Turkish President Erdogan rejoins ruling AK Party

By Mumin Altas and Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejoined the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party after signing his membership declaration during a special ceremony in the capital Ankara on Tuesday.

Erdogan signed a membership form, confirming his re-admittance to the party which he left when he was directly elected Turkey’s president in 2014, Mustafa Atas, AK Party vice chairman, announced.

In his speech at the ceremony, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Erdogan will be nominated chairman of AK Party during an extraordinary congress that will be held on May 21.

Starting in 2001, Erdogan led the AK Party for 13 years but had to step aside when he became president in August 2014. An April 16 referendum changed the Constitution to allow the president to be a member of a political party.