Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made a total of 2,241 appointments to state posts since he was elected president in 2018 under a newly adopted executive presidential system, the Birgün daily reported on Thursday.
Erdoğan, who was elected president for the first time in 2014, when Turkey had a parliamentary system of governance, fulfilled his longstanding dream of being Turkey’s first executive president following the presidential election last year, although many have accused him of seeking to establish a one-man rule in the country.
The new system allows Erdoğan to make crucial appointments to various state agencies. He appoints individuals to posts in a number of government institutions including the space agency, mufti’s offices, universities, ministries and force commands in the Turkish Armed Forces.
Turkey switched to an executive presidency after a constitutional reform package was approved in a public referendum in April 2017. It was put to public vote by Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Erdoğan was elected president again in June 2018 and received the mandate in July 2018.