Erdogan tightens grip on power

LONDON • Turkey was “entering a new era” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday as he was sworn in as the country’s first executive president, giving him sweeping new powers.

Erdogan had led Turkey for 15 years but the constitutional changes that came into effect Monday when he took the oath of office abolished the post of prime minister.

The president will now form the government, appoint ministers, vicepresidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and has the power to impose a state of emergency. He can also assert control over the judiciary, which critics claim will lead to the country becoming authoritarian.

It came after a bitterly fought referendum in 2017, which Erdogan narrowly won amid allegations of vote rigging. He defeated a coalition of opposition parties in a snap election last month with 52.9 per cent of the vote to hold on to power.

Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of his swearing in: “With the power granted to us by the new presidential system, we will get quicker and stronger results.”

He has ruled largely by fiat since 2016 when he imposed a state of emergency on the country in response to a failed coup attempt. The president promised to lift the emergency conditions later this month but in the hours before his swearing-in, he issued two more edicts. One was to dismiss 18,000 civil servants, half of them from the state police. Around 180,000 state employees have been sacked for alleged ties to the coup plotters and more than 60,000 arrested.

The second decree was to remove term limits for the governor of Turkey’s central bank, suggesting Erdogan may be looking to curb the bank’s independence and install a loyalist permanently in the office of governor.

The Turkish lira has lost around 20 per cent of its value in the last six months. Erdogan accused “shadowy forces” of trying to impose high interest rates and hinted he would take more direct control of the bank with his extended powers.

Western leaders were scarce at the ceremony at the presidential palace in Ankara, but a number of authoritarian leaders were present, including Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Viktor Orban of Hungary. Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister of Russia, also attended, alongside Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister.

Crowds cheered Erdogan along his convoy’s route as he made his way to the inauguration ceremony. The presidency tweeted with the hashtag #NewEraWithErdogan. A special coin was minted for guests with the image of the presidential palace.

Erdogan will attend this week’s NATO summit in Brussels amid strained relations between Turkey and other alliance members.