Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Turkey’s Erdogan Vows More Efficient Government, Non-Party Ministers

Turkey’s Erdogan Vows More Efficient Government, Non-Party Ministers

ANKARA - President Tayyip Erdogan promised on Friday to make government more efficient when Turkey’s new executive presidency is inaugurated next week, saying the new cabinet would include ministers not from his AK Party.
The shift to a presidential system, fulfilling Erdogan’s vision some 15 years after he first came to power, will culminate on Monday when he takes his oath for a five-year term after victory in elections on June 24.
“We are speeding up the functioning of the state and making it more efficient by merging institutions that do similar work and dissolving those which are idle,” he told party officials in his first major speech since the elections.
Turks backed the shift in political system by a narrow majority in a referendum last year. Critics say the transformation will erode democracy in the NATO-member state and entrench one-man rule.
Under the changes, the post of prime minister will be scrapped. The president will select his own cabinet, form and regulate ministries and remove civil servants, all without parliamentary approval.
“We are putting together a cabinet with ministers who are not from the party,” Erdogan said, adding this would give them the “opportunity to view events in a more objective way”.  (Reuters)