Turkey: Erdogan with strengthened mandate, seeks to appease

Ankara – Recep Tayyip Erdogan began Monday a new mandate with broad powers, pledging to be the president of all Turks while his critics fear an autocratic turn.
  

million. Erdogan, 64, was sworn in, pledging to preserve the principles of secular Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and to accomplish his task in an "impartial " manner.

million. Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, was greeted with a round of applause as he arrived in Parliament, where an alliance dominated by his Islamic-conservative AKP party holds the majority.

In power since 2003 first as Prime Minister and then President, Erdogan was re-elected on June 24, winning the presidential election in the first round with 52.6% of the vote, far ahead of its competitors.

After taking the oath, Mr. Erdogan laid a wreath at the Atatürk Mausoleum before presiding at a ceremony at the presidential palace, ushering in a new era in Turkey's modern history with the transition to the presidential system, terms of a constitutional revision adopted by referendum with a narrow margin in April 2017.

Welcoming " a new beginning " for Turkey, he promised in an apparent attempt to appease an extremely polarized society to serve all Turks.

" I am not only the president of those who voted for me but of the whole of 81 million (the Turkish population) ," he said.

He also promised to work to advance " democracy, rights and freedoms " and to elevate Turkey among the top ten economies in the world.

– " Regime of a single man " –

The accession of Mr. Erdogan to this " hyperpresidence " comes about two years after a coup attempt July 15, 2016, led by factional military and followed extensive purges including in the armed forces, police and administrations, with the arrest or dismissal of tens of thousands of people.

The latest wave of purges, announced Sunday, affected more than 18,000 people, mostly soldiers and policemen, who were sacked by a decree-law presented as the last under the state of emergency introduced overnight. failed coup.

" A one-man regime begins today ," wrote the opposition daily Cumhuriyet. Her columnist Asli Aydintasbas speaks of the advent of a " second republic " succeeding secular Turkey.

The pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak hailed a " historic day " during which " a page of Turkish history is turned and a new page opens ".

In the new system, the post of prime minister, occupied by Binali Yildirim, will be abolished, the head of state will now hold the entire executive power and may promulgate decrees.

He will also appoint six of the thirteen members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) to designate and remove judicial staff.

" Most of the power will be concentrated in his hands, there will be no more prime minister and almost none of the checks and balances of a liberal democracy. Turkey will be an institutionalized autocracy "says Marc Pierini researcher at the Carnegie Europe Institute.

In the legislative elections held at the same time as the presidential elections, the AKP won 295 seats out of 600 and only controls Parliament through its alliance with the ultra-nationalists of the MHP, which has 49 elected members.

Many experts fear that this alliance will lead to a tightening of Erdogan's policies, particularly on the Kurdish question.

Foreign leaders such as Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro and Sudanese Omar al-Bashir or Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the ceremony, along with Bulgarian President Roumen Radev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

million. Erdogan must present in the evening a new tight government that should have 16 ministries against 26 (not counting the Prime Minister) currently.

Several departments will be merged, like the Ministry of European Affairs, which will be part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The most pressing challenge seems to be the emerging economic crisis with high inflation, currency devaluation and a large current account deficit, despite solid growth.