ANKARA – Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in as president of Turkey after his election victory last month which allowed him to keep his post with increased powers.
The event at parliament in the capital, Ankara, concludes the country’s transition from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency, in line with the constitutional changes approved in a referendum last year.
A ceremony at the presidential palace that will follow later on Monday was scheduled to be attended by dozens of foreign leaders and dignitaries, including Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Under the new system, 64-year-old Erdogan will lead the state’s executive branch and have the right to appoint and remove vice-presidents, a newly introduced position, as well as ministers, high-level officials and senior judges – without parliamentary approval.
The president will also have the power to dissolve parliament, issue executive decrees and impose a state of emergency. The prime minister will not exist in the new system.
Later on Monday, Erdogan, who secured another five-year term by winning 52.5 percent of the votes in the June 24 presidential election, will announce his new cabinet.
Erdogan previously said that there will not be any members or parliamentarians of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the new cabinet, hinting that it will be made up of ex-politicians and bureaucrats.
The AK Party took 42.5 percent in the parliamentary polls, also conducted on June 24, while its ally, the far-right National Movement Party (MHP), got 11.1 percent, enabling the two parties’ bloc to secure a majority in parliament.
