MidEast

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Turkish President Sworn In Amid Accusations of Power Consolidation

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as the country’s president on Thursday, amid concerns that the three-term prime minister, who was elected earlier this month with just over half the vote, has made substantial moves to consolidate power under what has until now been a largely ceremonial post.

Reuters described Erdogan’s inauguration as “cementing his position as its most powerful leader of recent times, in what his opponents fear heralds an increasingly authoritarian rule.” Following his inauguration, Erdogan appointed the country’s outgoing foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, as the interim prime minister:

Erdogan, 60, is to be sworn in as president on Thursday and the approval of Davutoglu, 55, from the ruling justice and development party (AKP) was an important step in a tightly choreographed succession process.

Analysts expect the changeover at the top will not change Erdogan’s status as Turkey’s undisputed leader.

The Wall Street Journal noted that Erdogan had been “working diligently to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition that would safeguard his place as the ultimate decision maker in Turkey.”

Several members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) walked out on the ceremony before Erdogan’s swearing in, with opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotting the inauguration entirely. Erdogan’s ascension to the country’s presidency seems set to deepen rifts between the CHP and his own Justice and Development (AKP) Party, which have for months battled over accusations of corruption and political maneuvering.

Erdogan had earlier this year engaged in a fight with judiciary figures and with elements of the country’s security forces as part of a wide-ranging pushback by the AKP against a corruption probe that had engulfed many of the party’s elites, including Erdogan and his family. The Journal noted that the pushback involved, among other things, the purge of literally thousands of judges, police officers, and others deemed by the party to be opponents:

Mr. Erdogan’s inauguration as the country’s 12th president marks a remarkable turnaround from just the beginning of the year, when his cabinet was besieged by a corruption scandal, a plunging currency and sporadic street protests. Critics say the way Mr. Erdogan surmounted those challenges—quashing dissent, casting old allies as villainous enemies, passing laws to centralize authority—could foreshadow his presidential style, even as he vowed to create a “new Turkey” based on economic growth and greater freedoms.

[Photo: RT / YouTube]