Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as President of state after he won a historic run-off election to extend his two-decade rule for another five years, reported Al Jazeera.
The 69-year-old leader will be responsible for managing an economic crisis that has seen runaway inflation and the collapse of the currency. He revealed his new government later on Saturday. He appointed Mehmet Simsek, a renowned former banker and previous head of the economy, to the position of minister of finance and the treasury.
In a ceremony at the parliament in Anakara, Erdogan said, “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.”
“We will embrace all 85 million people (in the country) regardless of their political views, origins, or sect,” Erdogan was heard saying during a live broadcast, according to Al Jazeera.
Numerous foreign leaders attended a spectacular event held at the presidential palace in the nation’s capital after the inauguration on Saturday. Amid tensions with the West, Turkey’s longest-serving president confronts significant diplomatic difficulties.
Despite an economic crisis and criticism following a terrible earthquake that claimed more than 50,000 lives in February, Turkey’s transformational but controversial leader won the run-off election on May 28 against a strong opposition coalition.
According to official figures, Erdogan received 52.2 percent of the vote while Kemal Kilicdaroglu received 47.8 percent.
Noting that the President’s speech “addressed unity and solidarity several times,” Emre Erdogan from Bilgi University said, “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,” Emre Erdogan added, as per Al Jazeera.
After three stints as Prime Minister and two as President, Erdogan was already Turkey’s longest-serving leader, but this time he faced the biggest challenge in his political life, as the country is facing skyrocketing inflation that led to a huge cost of living crisis.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) estimated that Erdogan received 60 times as much airtime on the TRT Haber state broadcaster as Kilicdaroglu last month. (ANI)
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