Iraq names new president and prime minister, ending a year of political deadlock
ISTANBUL — The two-year-old Turkish caretaker government was sworn in as the country’s president on Tuesday a day after the country’s top electoral court annulled an unprecedented, late-night presidential poll in which ruling party members voted to sack the government.
The dramatic move ended a year of political deadlock that began with a political assassination in June, followed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to suspend the constitution and declare a state of emergency. It ended weeks of speculation about whether lawmakers were free to remove him when he failed to win a third term in the April 2016 presidential poll.
The vote by the Supreme Election Board made the final decision and it took less than half an hour for parliament to clear the board with a vote of 219 to 10.
The day’s events also saw the inauguration of Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who had been serving in the caretaker government from June until July, and the new president. Both were chosen by the ruling Justice and Development Party and are from other parties. Parliament voted to hold a snap election in three months, leaving the door open for a new government after that.
“This is my last presidential election and I declare that Turkey is a democracy,” Yildirim said as he took the oath of office.
Erdogan, in a short video message, said his government would work to preserve its freedoms for citizens even while serving a new term.
“I am your sovereign and you are my master and we shall work together to protect our country and nation,” he said.
Erdogan’s decision to suspend the constitution and declare a state of emergency set the stage for a period of political turmoil.
The president said the new administration would pursue reforms he outlined in his last speech on national television on July 1 at a security event in Ankara in which he announced that he would step down as president upon the completion of the next presidential term in 2021. The following day, he was