Roundup: May is busy month for re-shaping Turkey's ruling party

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's referendum victory for the constitutional amendments granting him executive powers, he will this week return and take the helm of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in an extraordinary convention on May 21.

Erdogan is also expected to implement major changes in the party's administration and the cabinet this month.

With the new constitutional changes, Erdogan is able to officially reestablish his ties with the AKP from which he resigned in August 2014 after he was elected as president, according to the constitutional requirement at that time.

The first step will be taken on Monday as the AKP will convene its Central Executive Board, the party's top executive bodies, and then the central-decision making body, in order to invite Erdogan to reestablish links with his political party.

In addition, Erdogan will deliberate on the extraordinary convention on May 21 during these meetings as well as register his party on Tuesday at a parliamentary group meeting.

"We happily invite our president back to our party. There is nothing stopping him from becoming its chairman. However, the first step is to readmit him once more as a member of our party," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said last week.

Ahead of the May 21 party meeting, a cabinet reshuffle is expected as Erdogan wants to shift departing ministers to different posts in the party's administration.

Although Erdogan said on Sunday that he was not in charge of the cabinet reshuffle decision which is the prime minister's responsibility, the president has obviously remained the de facto determining leader for party affairs since officially leaving the AKP after the 2014 presidential elections.

"Injecting fresh blood into the cabinet is a democratic necessity. We'll do this in consultation with our president," Yildirim added.

Several other new appointments are expected for party cadres in the extraordinary congress.

Current chairman and Prime Minister Yildirim will resign his post as President Erdogan is expected to become the sole candidate for the party's chairmanship.

Erdogan previously chaired the AKP for 13 years from 2001 but had to step aside when elected president in August 2014.

Presently, he will once more be able to head the ruling AKP while concurrently serving as president, thereby legitimizing the de facto situation without violating the constitution.

As such, the Turkish president will be in a position to maintain a tight grip over his party and parliament since the AKP holds majority seats in parliament.

Erdogan is one of the ruling AKP co-founders.

Turkish nationals voted "yes" on April 16 for the 18-article constitutional package paving the way for a transition from a parliamentary government model toward a presidential system, with limited checks and balances among governing authorities.

The referendum paved the way for Erdogan to potentially rule until 2029.

The "yes" camp garnered 51.4 percent of the votes, while the "no" camp received 48.6 percent of the votes.

The majority of constitutional amendments will be put into effect through general and presidential elections to be simultaneously held in 2019.

However, three articles will immediately come into effect, namely, the president's party membership, the reorganization of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors as well as abolishing military tribunals. Endite