Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for unity as he was sworn in for a third consecutive term on Saturday after winning a runoff election.
“We will embrace all 85 million people regardless of their political views … Let’s put aside the resentment of the election period. Let’s look for ways to reconcile,” Erdogan said during the inauguration speech at the presidential palace in Ankara.”
Together, we must look ahead, focus on the future, and try to say new things. We should try to build the future by learning from the mistakes of the past,” he added.
Supporters in parliament gave Erdogan a minute-long standing ovation after his swearing in, while some opposition lawmakers refused to stand up.
The ceremony was attended by high-level officials, including NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Later Saturday, 21 heads of state and 13 prime ministers joined Erdogan at a lavish dinner, alongside high-level officials from other countries such as the United States and China.
Turkey’s longest-serving leader, Erdogan won 52.2% support in a May 28 runoff election.
His victory defied most opinion polls and came despite a cost-of-living crisis that was seen to have hurt his prospects.
Erdogan’s new five-year mandate will allow him to continue pursuing an increasingly authoritarian program domestically while charting an independent path as a regional military power amid global crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Syria.
His new government will also oversee efforts to rebuild after a devastating series of earthquakes in February killed 50,000 people and leveled entire cities in the southeast of the country — a disaster he was widely criticized over. (DW)