Turkey’s prime minister formally submitted his resignation on Sunday, paving the way for his replacement by a trusted ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who immediately expressed allegiance to the Turkish leader and vowed to follow his path.
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Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s incoming Prime Minister and founding member of the AKP, Turkey’s governing party, and his wife Semiha Yildirim salute supporters during party congress in Ankara, Turkey, May 22, 2016.
“Now that the president is elected by the people, nothing can be the same as it was”, said Yıldırım, who was previously transport minister.
Yildirim said that the new constitution would create an executive presidency which would give President Erdogan broad powers which he has long sought for.
Traditionally, the post of premier in Turkey goes to the leader of the largest party in parliament and Erdogan is expected to formally ask Yildirim to form a new government after the convention.
“There appears to be more harmony” between Yildirim and the president than in the Davutoglu era, Deniz Zeyrek, the Ankara bureau chief of the Hurriyet daily, told AFP at the congress.
He said the new chairman and party administration had key duties: overcoming regional and global crises and preparing for a new constitution as well as achieving Turkey’s centennial goals by 2023.
Yildirim is expected make reshuffle in cabinet and in party management with names more loyal to Erdogan.
Not known for his charisma, Yildirim made a glitzy entrance in front of thousands at the congress, clad in football scarves and throwing carnations into the crowds to the sound of thumping Turkish pop music. “The way to this is a new constitution and presidential system”, he said.
His speech at the AKP congress at times almost came off the rails, his voice straining to near inaudibility and clearly unaccustomed to addressing such crowds.
The new AK Party chairman is now set to replace Ahmet Davutoglu as the country’s next prime minister.
In a message from Erdogan read by Bozdag, the president said “the bonds of my heart with you have never and will never be cut”.
He said that Erdogan and Davutoglu disagreed on too many issues and that Yildirim’s appointment would improve relations between the presidency and the prime minister’s office.
Erdogan’s critics have accused him of authoritarianism, pointing to prosecutions of journalists along with a highly controversial bill adopted by parliament on Friday that would lift immunity for dozens of pro-Kurdish and other MPs and could see them evicted from parliament. Many believe Yildirim will work to push Erdogan’s agenda through.
In his speech, Mr Yildirim said Turkey would press ahead with operations against Kurdish rebels until the group’s armed campaign comes to an end.
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He said that the European Union (EU) needs to end “confusion” about its migration policies and Turkey needs to know how the bloc thinks of it.
