Erdoğan focuses on new cabinet structure

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his top aides have begun working on drafting the new government structure and the next cabinet in line with the new executive-presidential system as it will enter into force after the president will take his oath on July 8.

The president chaired a meeting in his working office in Istanbul with the participation of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, ministers and senior Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials. The AKP’s central decision-making bodies will convene on June 29 in Istanbul as well.

Erdoğan was elected as the president of Turkey in the June 24 elections with 52.6 percent of the votes. The Supreme Election Board (YSK) said the final election results would be announced on July 5, which paves the way for the Turkish Parliament to convene on July 8 at an oath-taking ceremony for 600 lawmakers and the president.

The new governmental structure in line with the new system should therefore be shaped before July 8 so Erdoğan can appoint his vice-presidents, 16 ministers, and heads for nine councils and four offices.

“We are adopting a very clear, flexible system with efficient trouble-shooting and decision making mechanisms,” Mahir Ünal, deputy leader and spokesman of the AKP told state-run broadcaster TRT in an interview on June 26.

The main difference between the previous system and this new one is the fact that high bureaucracy will take risks in running their jobs as they will directly be appointed by the president, he said.

In response to a question about the composition of the new cabinet, Ünal said the final decision would be made by Erdoğan.

“There may be figures from the business world, culture and sports. There could be people who have lived abroad but who know both the world and Turkey very well. It is important to set up the state governance within the logic of management organization and free of political balances,” he said.

In his earlier interviews, Erdoğan had signaled he may appoint successful businesspeople as either ministers or members of the economy team in the new cabinet. In the new system, lawmakers who will be appointed to the cabinet will have to resign from the parliament. Although a few AKP MPs would resign to join Erdoğan’s cabinet, it is believed the majority of ministers will be outside the parliament with some technocrats as well.

An analysis on June 24 polls

Although Erdoğan is now focused on the new government, he also instructed his AKP officials to study the June 24 election results and report to him a broad analysis on why the party’s votes were decreased.

In a statement after the elections, Erdoğan admitted the AKP’s performance was rather poor in the parliamentary polls, as it failed to garner the simple majority at the next parliament. “We have received the message. We will correct the deficiencies and will appear before you in the future,” Erdoğan said in his first statement after the polls in early June 25.

Turkey will go to local polls in late March 2019. Being the former Istanbul mayor, Erdoğan attaches great importance to the municipal elections.