Turkey’s Erdogan takes oath as president
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s president for a third term on Saturday after emerging victorious from a historic runoff election, extending his rule into a third decade.
Erdogan will later name his cabinet, with reshuffling expected in order to address the dire economic crisis the country has been engulfed in.
The inauguration in parliament will be followed by a ceremony in the Turkish capital of Ankara attended by numerous world leaders.
The divisive figure won the May 28 runoff against a coalition of opposition parties led by Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kilicdaroglu, his challenger, taking 52.18 percent of the vote while his opponent received 47.82 percent, according to state media figures.
Among the attendees for the inauguration ceremony is Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, who received a formal invitation from Erdogan on Wednesday.
"In fact, inviting his Excellency the President of the Kurdistan Region, as the president of a federal region within the framework is of particular importance that reflects on the special relations between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region,” Dilshad Shahab, Spokesperson of the Kurdistan Region presidency, told Rudaw on Saturday.
Shahab added that the ties between President Barzani and Erdogan “have always had a positive reflection, not just for the situation of the Kurdistan Region, but Iraq as a whole."
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is also expected to meet with Erdogan and push for Sweden’s admission into the defense alliance on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony.
Erdogan swore to safeguard the “independence and territorial integrity of the homeland” as well as to “preserve the will of the people in line with the rule of law and democracy.”
The Turkish president also vowed to preserve human rights in the country. Turkey has repeatedly come under fire from human rights organizations for its violations, particularly towards journalists, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community.
”Baseless investigations, prosecutions and convictions of human rights defenders, journalists, opposition politicians and others persisted,” Amnesty International said in its country report last year.
“The authoritarian and highly centralized presidential government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has set back Turkey’s human rights record by decades,” Human Rights Watch reported in its own annual report.
Erdogan commences his new term at the helm of the country amid numerous crises. His biggest challenge is solving the economic crisis which experts have blamed on his unorthodox economic policies.
Bloomberg was first to report that Mehmet Simsek may be appointed as the new finance minister. His appointment could reverse Erdogan’s policies, a move which may restore credibility and confidence in the Turkish economy as he is a highly-respected economic among foreign investors.
Updated at 4:19pm