Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was re-elected on June 24th, is sworn in today, Monday, inaugurating a new constitutional system that gives him broadly strengthened powers.
The president will be sworn in at 16:30 p.m. local time (Greek time) in parliament, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency, and is expected to present his government later.
More than 3.000 guests, including 22 heads of state, vice presidents, politicians, bureaucrats and ministers from various countries, are expected to attend, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
After the swearing-in ceremony, Erdogan will visit Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republican founder Mustafa Kemal.
At 18:00 will follow the ceremony at the presidential palace in the presence of foreign officials that will officially mark the transition to the new presidential system, according to the constitutional revision approved by referendum in April 2017. In this new context, the post of prime minister is abolished and all executive power passes to the president. Therefore, Erdogan will appoint his ministers and appoint one or more vice presidents.
The officials who have confirmed that they will attend the ceremony at the presidential palace are the presidents of Bulgaria, Georgia, FYROM, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan and Suez. Zambia, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia, Mauritania, Gabon, Chad, Djibouti, Venezuela, as well as the Emir of Qatar and the Turkish Cypriot leader.
A total of 28 foreign officials - including prime ministers, vice-presidents, parliamentary speakers and ministers - will be at the presidential palace.
The Secretaries-General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Organization for Economic Co-operation in 8 Developing Countries (D-8) and the European Commissioner for Immigration and Home Affairs will also be present.
Following his inauguration, Erdogan will visit the occupied part of Cyprus on Tuesday and Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday for a NATO summit.