- Title: Turkey needs new constitution - incoming PM
- Date: 22nd May 2016
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAVING FLAGS AND CHEERING IN STANDS VARIOUS OF INCOMING PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, ARRIVING AT VENUE AND THROWING RED CARNATIONS TO CROWD CROWD WAVING FLAGS
- Embargoed: 6th June 2016 14:36
- Keywords: Turkey politics AK Party Binali Yildirim Ahmet Davutoglu constitution
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0024IW31VR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkey's incoming prime minister said on Sunday (May 22) his top priority was to deliver a new constitution to create an executive presidency, giving President Tayyip Erdogan the broad powers he has long sought.
As delegates from the ruling AK Party unanimously elected Transport Minister Binali Yildirim as their new party leader, and therefore the next premier, Yildirim left no doubt that he would prioritise the policies closest to Erdogan's heart.
An ally of Erdogan for two decades, the 60-year-old was the sole candidate at the special congress, called after Ahmet Davutoglu said he would step down this month, following weeks of public tension with Erdogan.
Yildirim said in a speech a new constitution was necessary to legitimise the existing situation, in what appeared to be a tacit acknowledgment that Erdogan has been gone beyond the presidency's traditionally ceremonial role.
A co-founder with Erdogan of the AKP, Yildirim has been the driving force behind major infrastructure projects in Turkey which were one of the pillars of the party's electoral successes during its first decade in power.
He has been seen as someone who will help pursue two of Erdogan's biggest priorities - the executive presidency and the fight against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the largely Kurdish southeast. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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