Turkey: Ex-PM made parliament speaker after office abolished

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s Parliament has elected former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as its speaker.

Legislators in the 600-seat assembly elected 62-year-old Yildirim with 335 votes in a third round of balloting on Thursday.

Turkey this week formally switched to an executive system of government that abolished the office of prime minister and concentrates sweeping powers in the hands of the president. Under the new system, the president can issue decrees, prepare the budget and impose a state of emergency.

The change in Turkey’s form of government came into effect following presidential and parliamentary elections last month. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won re-election with 52.6 per cent of the vote.

On Monday, Erdogan appointed a 16-member Cabinet that includes his son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, as treasury and finance minister.