Erdoğan holds pompous inauguration ceremony day after national disaster

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was sworn in Monday under a new governing system that grants him sweeping executive powers
Monday, 09 July 2018 20:47

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was sworn in Monday under a new governing system that grants him sweeping executive powers. Erdoğan was under pressure by Turks to postpone the swearing-in ceremony, after a deadly train derailment earlier on Monday in Turkey's north-western Tekirdağ province killed 24 and injured more than 300.

The train came off the rails after "heavy rain and a landslide" on to the tracks, the Turkish government said. But experts say the derailment could have been prevented. Experts from a Turkish engineering union issued a statement saying a drainage system was incorrectly built.

The Turkish government has ordered a temporary media ban Sunday on news coverage of the train derailment. 

Erdoğan, 64, took his oath in parliament for a new five-year term after his June election 'victory,' followed by a pompous ceremony at the huge presidential palace he has constructed in the capital.

Erdoğan has been at the helm of Turkey since 2003 as prime minister and then the first directly elected president since 2014.

Speaking at his sprawling presidential compound in Ankara, he unveiled the rebranded presidency "on this most important day of our country."

Erdoğan said the new, powerful executive presidency is vital to drive economic growth, ensure security after a failed 2016 military coup and safeguard Turkey from conflict across its southern border in Syria and Iraq.

He said the executive presidency would put behind a "system that heavily cost our country through political, social and economic chaos."

In April 2017, a new draft constitution that significantly increases the powers of the president has been approved in a fraudulent referendum. An international observer with the Council of Europe has said that as many as 2.5 million votes may have been manipulated in a vote that passed by a margin of 1.3 million "Yes" ballots. 

The changes are due to take full effect following the 'victory' of Erdoğan and his AKP in June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The post of prime minister has been scrapped and the president will now be able to select his own ministers, regulate ministries and remove civil servants, all without parliamentary approval.

The president will now appoint vice presidents and high-level bureaucrats, issue decrees, prepare the budget and has the power to impose a state of emergency. 

Under the new system, Erdoğan will not only run the executive branch but also lead his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament where he is six short of a majority and therefore allied with a nationalist party.

A special one lira coin (less than 25 U.S. cents) was minted for guests with the image of the presidential palace, dated July 9, 2018.