Cemalettin Kani Torun, Türkiye’s former ambassador to Somalia who once served as a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), rejoined it on Tuesday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented Torun with a party badge at a ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of the party’s Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK).
Torun resigned from the New Path bloc in Parliament in August and has been independent since. The AK Party now has 281 seats in Parliament. The party won 268 seats at the 2023 legislative elections and since then, transferred lawmakers from the opposition, including three in August.
AK Party has also attracted mayors from the opposition parties in the past two years. Dozens of mayors joined the party in that period. The most recent high-profile transfer was Cemil Tugay, mayor of Türkiye’s third-largest city, Izmir, which has long been a stronghold of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).