We are now gov’t of all, PM says after vote of confidence

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım underlined the new Justice and Development Party (AKP) will be the government of all Turkish citizens, after winning a parliamentary vote of confidence on May 29 with 315 votes of support, while 138 lawmakers voted against the administration. 

“As AK Party [AKP] governments, we have a characteristic attribute: No matter how many votes we garner at the elections, we become the government of all. After winning a vote of confidence under this roof [of the Turkish parliament], we become the government of all 79 million [citizens],” Yıldırım said during his address to parliament. 

“We will firmly walk towards accomplishing the 2023 goals of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk,” Yıldırım said, referring to the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, saying they would be in service to the nation and work to further the country’s democracy, rights and freedoms. 

Some 453 deputies attended the vote, with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) head Devlet Bahçeli as the only opposition leader present, as main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the co-chairs of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, did not attend the vote held at 11 a.m. yesterday. 

The ruling party, which has 317 deputies in the 550-seat parliament, gathered 315 votes, as one of AKP’s deputies was unable to attend the vote while another AKP deputy is the speaker of parliament and was hence excluded from voting. 

The new cabinet, which was unveiled on May 24 after lengthy midnight consultations with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, later visited Atatürk’s mausoleum, Anıtkabir, under the leadership of the prime minister, in line with the customary practice. 

The members of the cabinet walked past Lion Road and placed a wreath on Atatürk’s mausoleum, followed by a photo of the country’s 65th government’s first visit to Anıtkabir.  

“As a government who undertook the task of ruling Turkey with the will of the nation, we will continue to glorify our republic, improve our country and increase the reputation of our nation,” Yıldırım wrote on the private ledger of Anıtkabir. 

“We are determined to continue to serve our country with the confidence, enthusiasm and excitement of having realized the biggest investments in the history of the republic,” the prime minister added, saying all their efforts were towards ensuring a peaceful and wealthy country. 

Yıldırım was elected the new chairman of the AKP after the party convened at an extraordinary convention on May 22, after former prime minister and AKP chair Ahmet Davutoğlu had to abandon his position over a series of disagreements with Erdoğan, who is deemed the real leader of the AKP.