Turkey’s new cabinet will bear the stamp of President Tayyip Erdogan with a slew of loyal advisors set for ministerial posts, senior officials said on Tuesday, writes AFP.
The AKP’s dramatic electoral comeback on Sunday, was a personal victory for Erdogan, whose ambition for stronger presidential powers rests on the party he founded controlling parliament.
Officials in Ankara said the new cabinet, likely to be announced late next week at the earliest, would include several top Erdogan advisors, although Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was likely to keep control of the economic team.
Opponents fear the result, which dashed any hopes of a coalition government that might soothe deep social divisions, will exacerbate his authoritarian instincts. There are already
signs that a crackdown on dissent is intensifying.
Authorities detained dozens of people, including senior police officers and bureaucrats, on Tuesday on suspicion of links to Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric Erdogan
accuses of plotting to overthrow him with bogus corruption accusations.
The offices of a left-leaning news magazine were raided over a cover suggesting the election result could trigger conflict.
Turkish prosecutors also charged two opposition journalists with plotting a coup over a magazine cover criticising President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s election win, the magazine said.
“Nokta editor-in-chief Cevheri Guven and managing editor Murat Capan were arrested on charges of attempting to overthrow the government by force,” the magazine wrote on Twitter.
The move comes after Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to an unexpected victory in an election on Sunday which international observers said was marred by a media crackdown, violence and other security concerns.
The White House on Monday voiced concerns at the “intimidation” of Turkish journalists during the campaign.
The military also attacked several PKK bases in both Irak and Turkey, and three PKK militias were killed in clashes with security forces.
