Erdogan Sworn In As Turkey President For Third Time

Erdogan’s victory, that came amid a cost-of-living crisis, went against the predictions of most opinion polls that predicted a win for his contender Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been leading Tukey for the last two decades, took oath as the President on Saturday. The 69-year-old leader, who has been at the helm of Turkish politics for the last 20 years, registered a victory after garnering 52.2% support in the May 28 runoff vote. "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 ... to abide by the constitution, the rule of law, democracy, the principles and reforms of Ataturk, and the principles of the secular republic," Erdogan said in a ceremony at the parliament in Ankara, which was broadcast live on television. 

Erdogan’s victory, that came amid a cost-of-living crisis, went against the predictions of most opinion polls that predicted a win for his contender Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

According to the report, the oath-taking event, that was held at the general assembly in Ankara, will be followed by a ceremony at the presidential palace that will be attended by high-level officials from 78 countries and international organisations, including NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

After the ceremony, Erdogan will most likely name his cabinet ministers, and according to Reuters, he will include former economy chief Mehmet Simsek in his new cabinet.

It is to be noted that the May 14 President election and May 28 runoff was pivotal given the opposition had been confident of ousting Erdogan and reversing many of his policies, including proposing sharp interest rate hikes to counter inflation, running at 44% in April.

According to political experts, if the current policies continue, the Turkish economy is headed for a turmoil given the depleted foreign reserves, an expanding state-backed protected deposits scheme, and unanchored inflation expectations.

Notably, the country has been reeling under a cost-of-living crisis fuelled by inflation that peaked at a staggering 85 per cent in October before easing to 44 per cent last month.