Turkey’s Erdogan Takes Oath As President After Historic Win

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in as head of state after winning an historic runoff election to extend his two-decade rule for another five years.

The 69-year-old leader will later on Saturday name his cabinet, which will be tasked with handling an economic crisis that has witnessed runaway inflation and the collapse of the lira.

“I, as president, swear upon my honour and integrity before the great Turkish nation and history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” Erdogan said in a ceremony at the parliament in Ankara, broadcast live on television.

“We will embrace all 85 million people [in the country] regardless of their political views, origins, or sect.”

Saturday’s inauguration was followed by a lavish ceremony at the presidential palace in the capital attended by dozens of world leaders. Turkey’s longest-serving leader faces considerable diplomatic challenges amid tensions with the West.

Turkey’s transformative but divisive leader won the May 28 run-off against a powerful opposition coalition, and despite an economic crisis and criticism following a devastating February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people.

Erdogan won 52.2 percent of the vote while his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu 47.8 percent, official results show.

Emre Erdogan from Bilgi University noted the president’s speech “addressed unity and solidarity several times, and he underlined the importance of forgetting resentment and anger which voters felt during his election campaign”.

“He talked about a liberal and inclusive constitution and that’s important because he never talked in this way [before]… He also talked about the role of Turkey in the region as a peacemaker. He tried to show the key role of Turkey in world politics.”

ECONOMIC CRISIS

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Ankara, said the inauguration ceremony was attended by at least 78 members of the international community.

Some of the guests include Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Addressing the country’s economic troubles will be Erdogan’s priority with inflation running at 43.7 percent, partly because of his unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates to stimulate growth.