Turkey's ruling AKP to re-elect Erdogan as head

Ankara: Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Monday that it will re-elect President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Chairman after a break of some three years, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

A ceremony will be held by the party on Tuesday to welcome its founder, President Erdogan, and renew membership for him, Xinhua news agency quoted the Deputy Chairman Yasin Aktay as saying after the AKP's Central Decision and Executive Board meeting.

Erdogan will first make his request to register with the AKP and then address the ceremony, which will include all party officials, AKP lawmakers and other related officials.

The President will be re-elected as party Chairman at an "extraordinary" congress on May 21, according to Aktay.

Erdogan had chaired the AKP for 13 years from 2001 but had to step aside when he was elected President in August 2014, as the constitution prevented a President from being affiliated with a political party.

The constitutional amendment that was approved by the April 16 referendum paves the way for the President to retain membership of a party.