(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoanhas expressed his belief that the new government to be formed under confidant Binali Yldrm will prioritize a systemic change to impose a presidential system on the country.
“My legal ties with my party might have been cut on Aug. 27, 2014, when I was elected as the president. But my bonds of love with my party have never been cut and will never been cut,” Erdoan said in a written message he sent to the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) extraordinary convention.
His message went beyond a routine congratulatory one as he directly expressed his demands from the next government. “I believe this weird rule that obliged the president to cut ties with the political cadres will be soon removed in this new era as part of efforts to renew the constitution and governance system,” he said. Erdoan also thanked outgoing AKP chairmanAhmet Davutoluwhile wishing success to the new leader and party management.
Thousands of AKP members and ministers stood in the hall as Erdoan’s message was read out by Justice Minister Bekir Bozda, who chaired the convention.
‘AKP has just one leader: Erdoan’
In his introductory remarks, Bozda stated that the AKP regards Erdoan as the one and only leader of the ruling party.
“[The AKP] will continue to be the party of Tayyip as long as our people continue to say ‘The AK Party is the party of Tayyip.’ It’s not possible to think the AK Party is different from our president or our president is different from the AK Party. The AK Party has just one leader, our President Recep Tayyip Erdoan,” he said.
The congress hall was full of massive posters of Erdoan, with videos showing footage of Erdoan during his time as prime minister and president.