Moments after being sworn in, Erdogan appointed outgoing foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu as acting prime minister
Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s president on Thursday, cementing his position as its most powerful leader of recent times in a step opponents fear heralds more authoritarian rule and widening religious influence in public life.
Reading the oath of office in a ceremony in parliament, Erdogan vowed to protect Turkey’s independence and integrity, to abide by the constitution and by the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular republic.
“In my capacity as President of the Republic, I swear upon my honour and repute before the great Turkish nation and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” he said at the brief ceremony.
He was seen off by a military salute as he left to lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum on a hill in the heart of Ankara, one of the most important symbols of the secular republic. A further ceremony was then due at the presidential palace.
Moments after being sworn in, Erdogan appointed outgoing foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu as acting prime minister, according to an announcement in the official gazette. Davutoglu will oversee the existing cabinet until Erdogan asks him to form a new government, expected to be announced on Friday.
Members of parliament from the main opposition CHP walked out moments before Erdogan took his oath, while party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotted the event entirely, accusing Erdogan of breaching the constitution by remaining in office as prime minister after his presidential victory.
Erdogan’s victory in Turkey’s first popular presidential election this month capped more than decade as prime minister in which the economy has tripled in dollar terms and the country has carved out a growing, though often controversial, role in the politics of the conflict-torn Middle East.
Opponents warn his ambition to establish an executive presidential system will concentrate too much power in the hands of a leader with autocratic instincts and roots in Islamist politics, and lead the EU candidate country ever further from the secular ideals of Ataturk.
Senior representatives of some 90 countries from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe will attend ceremonies later on Thursday, including the emir of Qatar and Iran’s foreign minister, Erdogan’s office said.
There were no heads of major Western states, many of which have viewed Erdogan sceptically since a crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in June of last year.
