New Turkish gov’t expected to be announced this week

ANKARA

AP photo

Turkey’s next government is due to be announced this week, three-weeks after the Nov 1 election in which the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) secured a comfortable majority at parliament. 

Although it is not yet certain when the government will be submitted to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for approval, it is expected to be finalized this week. 

“In the short-run, the promises that we have made will be fulfilled. There are reforms and projects to be carried out. We are working on them now. God willing, the government program will be read at parliament next week,” Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan said late on Nov. 21 in a statement. 

In order to have the government’s program read at parliament, Davutoğlu must first get approval for his cabinet from President Erdoğan early this week and then ask for a confidence vote. Parliament must convene within a week of the president approving the cabinet in order to discuss the government program and then vote on it. 

‘A new era begins’

In his statement, Akdoğan said previous AKP governments had initiated “very important projects,” such as the Kurdish peace process, which he said was later “sabotaged.” 

“Today we’re experiencing a new peace process. Our counterpart in this process is the people. We’ll continue to serve our people. We’ll continue to embrace everybody and to invest in them, regardless of which party they voted for,” he added.