- Title: Turkey's transport minister elected head of ruling AK Party
- Date: 22nd May 2016
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (MAY 22, 2016) (REUTERS) PRO-GOVERNMENT COLUMNIST, ABDULKADIR SELVİ, WALKING PAST CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) PRO-GOVERNMENT COLUMNIST, ABDULKADIR SELVI, SAYING: "If they can succeed, this will be a transition period for the executive presidency or a presidential system that would enable the president to be the leader of a political party. There has been a change because Davutoglu didn't spring into action with enthusiasm on this matter (the presidential system). Binali Yildirim said this new period will be a period of 'absolute harmony'. An executive presidency or alternatively, a presidential system that allows the President to be the leader of a party will on top of the agenda in this new period." (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) JOURNALIST, SEDAT BOZKURT, SAYING: "We should look at this: Ahmet Davutoglu was keeping his distance from the president during his term. In this new period with Binali Yildirim, we will see a low-key prime minister who acts like an under-secretary. The office of prime minister will have a more bureaucratic structure rather than a political one. Besides that, I don't expect big differences." VARIOUS OF OUTGOING TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, AHMET DAVUTOGLU'S, CAR ENTERING PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
- Embargoed: 6th June 2016 17:32
- Keywords: Turkey politics AK Party Binali Yildirim Ahmet Davutoglu prime minister
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0054IW3FBB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim became the country's new prime minister on Sunday (May 22) after being unanimously elected as the new leader of the ruling AK Party.
Yildirim's election allows President Tayyip Erdogan to cement his grip on the government as he seeks greater powers.
Yildirim is one of the co-founders of the AK Party along with Erdogan. He won all the votes from the 1,405 delegates at an extraordinary party congress.
He was the sole candidate at the congress, which was announced after Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier this month he was stepping down following an increasingly public rift with Erdogan.
Turkey's incoming prime minister said Erdogan's way was the ruling AK Party's way, leaving little doubt about where the centre of power would lie in the new government.
Erdogan and his supporters see an executive presidency, akin to the system in the United States or France, as a guarantee against the fractious coalition politics that hampered the government in the 1990s.
His opponents, including some sceptics within the AKP, say he is merely furthering his own ambition.
Turkish journalist, Sedat Bokzurt, said it was the beginning of a new style of government.
"We should look at this: Ahmet Davutoglu was keeping his distance from the president during his term. In this new period with Binali Yildirim, we will see a low-key prime minister who acts like an under-secretary. The office of prime minister will have a more bureaucratic structure rather than a political one. Besides that, I don't expect big differences," he said.
Yildirim was elected the deputy for Istanbul in November 2002 when the AKP won its first election. He was appointed transport, maritime and communications minister, a post he held almost continuously in successive governments. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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