Turkey’s new PM calls for presidential government

Turkey’s experienced transport minister Binali Yildirim, a steadfast ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was on Sunday named ruling party chief and was set to be also appointed as Prime Minister in moves further consolidating the Turkish strongman’s grip on power.

Mr Yildirim, 60, vowed at an extraordinary ruling party congress that anointed him to make a priority out of implementing Mr Erdogan’s controversial plan for a presidential system to enshrine his status as the Turkish number one.

He replaces Ahmet Davutoglu, a former foreign minister who promoted his own ambitious agenda but threw in the towel after a power struggle with Mr Erdogan.

Mr Yildirim was the only candidate at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, receiving 1,405 votes from 1,470 delegates present.

In a carefully-choreographed sequence of events, Mr Erdogan is due later on Sunday to hand Mr Yildirim the mandate of PM, with a new government expected to be formed in the next days.

By AKP convention, the posts of Premier and ruling party chief are held by the same person.

Analysts expect Mr Yildirim to be a more pliant figure for Mr Erdogan than Mr Davutoglu, as the head of state presses on with his plan to create the presidential system.

“Turkey needs a new Constitution. Are you ready to bring in a presidential system ” Mr Yildirim told the congress to cheers from the crowds, saying this was the way to end the current “confusion”.

Mr Erdogan first came to power as Prime Minister in 2003, switching to the presidency in 2014. If he seeks a second presidential mandate in 2019, he could stay in power until 2024.