ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will on Monday be sworn in for a second mandate as Turkey’s head of state after his election triumph last month, assuming sweeping powers granted under a new constitution, a presidential source said.
Erdogan, who has dominated Turkey first as premier from 2003 then president from 2014, scored an outright victory in the first round of the June 24 elections with 52.6 percent of the vote.
Those elections were particularly crucial as it is only after the polls that the new presidential system, which was agreed in a 2017 referendum and opponents fear will lead to one-man rule, comes into force.
Erdogan will be sworn at the parliament, a presidential source, who asked not to be named, said. State media reports said the oath ceremony would be at 1300 GMT.
Two hours later a “transition ceremony” marking the shift to the new system will take place at his vast presidential palace on the outskirts of Ankara, Anadolu news agency reported.
The Turkish leader is expected to deliver a speech during the ceremony to be attended by leading figures from the business, art and sports as well as foreign heads of state, according to the Hurriyet daily.
The ceremony will be followed by a dinner and then Erdogan is due to announce his new cabinet, it said.
Under the new system, Erdogan will enjoy greater powers with the authority to appoint and sack ministers, judges and other state officials.
The post of prime minister, currently held by Erdogan’s ally Binali Yildirim, is to be scrapped as of Monday, leaving the president in full and sole charge of the government.
A decree published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday formalized the transfer of some duties and authorities of the cabinet to the president.
Also, the references in certain laws like “cabinet” and “prime ministry” have been changed to say “president” and the “presidency,” according to the decree.
The new regulations will come into force on the day the president is sworn in, Anadolu said.
The new parliament is meanwhile expected to be sworn in two days earlier on Saturday.
Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has failed to secure a majority in the 600-seat parliament on its own in the June elections. But it does enjoy a clear majority within a pact with its partner the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Turkey’s Erdogan to be sworn in Monday with new powers
Turkey’s Erdogan to be sworn in Monday with new powers
Israel army ‘temporarily suspends’ strike on south Lebanon
- The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it would “temporarily” suspend a strike planned for Saturday that was intended to target what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
But later Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said “the strike was temporarily suspended,” adding that the military “continues to monitor the target.”
The suspension came after the Lebanese army “requested access again to the specified site... and to address the breach of the agreement,” he said on X.
Adraee added that the military would “not allow” Hezbollah to “redeploy or rearm.”
The year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes the United Nations, the United States and France.
A Lebanese security source said the army had previously tried to search the building that the Israeli military wanted to target but could not because of objections from residents.
But the source told AFP that the Lebanese army was able to enter and search the building after returning a second time, because residents “felt threatened,” adding that they were evacuated over fears of a strike.
