Justice and Development Party (AKP)

I am not calling Supreme Leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan an autocrat. I love him as much as any Turk, like I’d love (a) Big Brother. Besides, if slandered him, I could end up in Silivri - not to mention a visit from the taxman to my newspaper.

Commemoration events have been held across Turkey’s northwestern Marmara region on the 15th anniversary of the country’s worst seismic disaster in recent history, which killed over 17,000 people.

One of the most debated issues regarding Turkish Prime Minister and now President-elect Tayyip Erdoğan’s upcoming term as president surrounds his ruling style. Throughout the election campaign, he said he was to use his presidential powers extensively, unlike previous presidents.

President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has heralded an “overhaul of the customary rules of the state” of the Turkish Republic when he takes office at Çankaya Palace, while urging his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to secure a stronger parliamentary majority next year to enable them to re-write the Constitution.

President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has clearly stated he will not attend the ceremony marking the commencement of the judicial year for 2014-2015 if the head of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) delivers a speech there, pressuring Turkey’s top court to review its list of invitees.

President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he will conclude his consultations regarding the party’s future leadership with Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials next week.

Erdoğan also said the next chairman and prime minister will be announced Aug. 21, nearly a week before the presidential handover.

Under the Turkish Constitution, the moment a candidate is elected president he is no longer a parliamentarian and should sever all ties with political parties, as the president ought to be above party politics. Because under the Constitution the prime minister must be a parliamentarian, continuing in the prime ministry after being elected president cannot be on the cards anyway.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to hand over the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) after consultations, as he prepares to take over the presidency from Abdullah Gül on Aug. 28.

We have been experiencing a “new Turkey” since the beginning of this week. A “new Turkey” in which president-elect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is destined to become the sole decider for both the future of the ruling party and the country.

The results of the Aug. 10 presidential election give politicians two important messages:

A female opposition deputy’s fiery speech at Parliament has triggered a new social media protest in Turkey, with hundreds of women expressing anger at male dominance by sharing photos of their shoes and slippers.