The congress, announced on 4 May 2016, had been long speculated by politicians and political commentators who had observed a severe deterioration in relations between Prime Minister and incumbent AKP leader Ahmet Davutoğlu and the AKP's founder and former leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Transport and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım was the sole candidate for the party leadership, announced by the AKP Central Executive Committee (MKYK) on 19 May 2016.

[1][4][5][6] By 16 May, Binali Yıldırım emerged as the frontrunner after a secret poll amongst AKP MPs allegedly placed him well ahead in terms of preference than the other candidates.

[7] It was alleged that the AKP headquarters sent memos to the provincial and district associations of the party announcing that Yıldırım would be the next leader.

Their most likely candidate is expected to be Ali Babacan, who is internationally recognised for his economic policies while serving as a government minister.