Turkey swears in new parliament, Erdogan to take office on Monday

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s expanded parliament was sworn in on Saturday, with 600 lawmakers taking the oath of office two weeks after elections that also gave the country’s president sweeping powers. The number of parliamentarians was increased from 550 to 600 following constitutional changes that were narrowly approved in a referendum in April 2017. Lawmakers convened at 2 pm (11:00 GMT) at the Grand National Assembly in Ankara, observing a moment of silence for Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern, secular Turkish republic. The last of the 600 MPs was sworn in more than 8 hours later. In his opening remarks, parliamentary Speaker Durmus Yilmaz said: “It is our joint responsibility to protect the honour of this constituent assembly which is the sole safeguard of our independence and democracy.” Yilmaz, a former central bank governor and a lawmaker from the Iyi (Good) Party, added: “It is a moral duty to avoid attitudes and behaviour that could overshadow its (the assembly’s) prestige.” Last year’s referendum approved a radical change to an executive presidency, with the June 24 simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections cementing Turkey’s transition from a parliamentary model. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election in a decisive first round with 52.59 per cent of votes and vast new powers, including over the judiciary and the ability to rule by decree. When he is sworn in on Monday, he will become both the head of state and government, with the prime minister’s post abolished under the new system. The country’s last prime minister, Binali Yildirim, was sworn in as the lawmaker from Izmir. He was also nominated as the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidate for the parliament speaker’s post, according to state broadcaster TRT. Erdogan watched the swearing-in ceremony briefly from a balcony. “Our goal is a powerful parliament, a powerful government and a powerful Turkey,” Erdogan said earlier on Saturday as he addressed AKP lawmakers. “Turkey is embarking on a new era with the presidential oath ceremony on Monday. We will have a spectacular inauguration ceremony at the presidential compound.” He added that “there will be 22 presidents and 17 prime ministers, vice-presidents, parliament speakers” at his inauguration. The guests include Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, among others, Yeni Safak daily reported.  — Agencies