With the return of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) guaranteed by the passage of a constitutional referendum on Sunday, the government is expected carry out a large reshuffle of up to eight Cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish media reported.
Milliyet daily Ankara representative Serpil Çevikcan claimed on Saturday that AKP circles expect a reshuffle of ministers after Erdoğan becomes a member of the party once again, saying he will most probably be active in party politics and chair several of its meetings.
According to Çevikcan, who is known for her reports and close relationship with the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Turkey will introduce a presidential system of governance in 2019, although Erdoğan will gradually prepare the AKP for the new system after he returns to the party.
“A Cabinet overhaul that Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım recently indicated will be one of the first steps. That revision could affect up to seven or eight ministers according to AKP inner circles,” she wrote.
Erdoğan to replace FM Çavuşoğlu with his spokesman Kalın
According to Yeni Çağ daily columnist Ahmet Takan, Erdoğan will replace Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu with Turkish Presidency Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın as part of the reshuffle after his return to the AKP.
In his column on Saturday, Takan said Erdoğan is not happy with the narrow passage of the referendum and blames Yıldırım and his Cabinet for it.
“After evaluating backstage talk in Ankara, AKP politics is expecting surprising inner party operations. The new constitutional amendments [approved in the referendum] will be implemented before their effective date of 2019,” Takan said.