Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes office today as Turkey’s executive president with vastly expanded powers as more than 18,600 people are purged from government jobs.
Erdogan will take his oath in the Turkish parliament, followed by a lavish ceremony at his nearby palace in Ankara. His inauguration officially ushers in a new executive presidency, which replaces a parliamentary system in which the prime minister and government held most power, reports Reuters.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The dismissed state employees include 9,000 police personnel and more than 6,000 officers from the country’s armed services. Three newspapers, one TV channel and 12 associations have also been shut down, amid claims that they posed a security risk to the state, reports Bloomberg.
The government has been issuing decrees, bypassing parliament, since a state of emergency was imposed in the wake of an attempted military coup in July 2016. Erdogan promised to lift the state of emergency rule following last month’s election, in which he was re-elected with 53% of the vote.
However, his new powers enable him to “issue decrees with the force of law” and he “can still declare a similar state of emergency giving authorities powers to restrict basic rights and freedoms when deemed necessary”, says Bloomberg.
“The recent purge is a further consolidation of the grip on power that Erdogan has been working on particularly since the attempted coup,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of London-based political risk consultants Cornerstone Global Associates. “The purge is surprising in its magnitude and many will accuse Erdogan of going after anyone who opposes him.”
The government says that the sacked civil servants are followers of US-based Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of masterminding the coup. He denies the charge.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talksspeed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
