Mandate will allow leader to further pursue increasingly authoritarian policies that have polarised country
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has taken the oath of office for a new five-year presidential term, extending his rule into a third decade.
“I, as president, swear upon my honour and integrity before the great Turkish nation and history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state … to abide by the constitution, the rule of law, democracy, the principles and reforms of Ataturk, and the principles of the secular republic,” Erdoğan said in a ceremony at the parliament in Ankara, which was broadcast live on television.
