Erdoğan praises PM Yıldırım for presidential system commitment

ANKARA

AFP photo

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has praised Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım for his commitment to changing Turkey’s political system to an executive presidency, implicitly criticizing the lack of conviction on the issue from former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

“I can’t say that there aren’t any differences because there are. The current government has laid claim to the presidential system much more strikingly, and in fact has made it the priority item on the agenda,” Erdoğan told Al-Jazeera on Nov. 10.

“The reflection of this in public opinion is also developing in a much more different way,” he added. 

 “I know that Mr. Davutoğlu doesn’t think differently than Mr. Yıldırım regarding the presidential system. But Mr. Yıldırım is carrying a very serious campaign,” Erdoğan said. 

In his first address after officially taking office following the departure of former Prime Minister Davutoğlu at an extraordinary convention on May 22, Yıldırım pledged the adoption of a presidential system as part of a new constitution, in line with the demands of President Erdoğan.

In the same interview with Al-Jazeera, Erdoğan also spoke about the greater efficiency of a “Turkish-style presidential system.” 

“It will give Turkey the opportunity for much faster development,” he said.