ANKARA: Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey’s president on Thursday, cementing his position as its most powerful leader of recent times.

Reading the oath of office in a ceremony in parliament, Mr Erdogan vowed to protect Turkey’s independence and integrity, to abide by the constitution and by the principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern secular republic.

“In my capacity as president of the republic, I swear upon my honour and repute before the great Turkish nation and before history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” he said at the brief ceremony.

He was seen off by a military salute as he left to lay a wreath at Ataturk’s mausoleum on a hill in the heart of Ankara, one of the most important symbols of the republic.

President Mamnoon Hussain in Ankara to represent Pakistan at the ceremonies

Moments after being sworn in, Mr Erdogan appointed outgoing foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu as acting prime minister, according to an announcement in the official gazette.

Mr Davutoglu will oversee the existing cabinet until Mr Erdogan asks him to form a new government, expected to be announced on Friday.

Members of parliament from the main opposition CHP walked out moments before Mr Erdogan took his oath, while party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu boycotted the event entirely, accusing the former of breaching the constitution by remaining in office as prime minister after his presidential victory.

“We’re now more worried than ever about one-man, autocratic rule in Turkey,” CHP deputy Aykan Erdemir said.

Mr Erdogan’s victory in Turkey’s first popular presidential election this month capped more than a decade as prime minister in which the economy has tripled in dollar terms and the country has carved out a growing, though often controversial, role in the politics of the conflict-torn Middle East.

Opponents warn his ambition to establish an executive presidential system will concentrate too much power in the hands of a leader with autocratic instincts and roots in Islamist politics, and lead the EU candidate country ever further from the secular ideals of Ataturk.

In a final speech as AK Party leader on Wednesday, Mr Erdogan spoke of his move to the presidential palace as the birth of a new Turkey. But he vowed that the AK’s mission to elevate the country as a major regional power would go on unchanged after he left party politics. He must cut across party lines as head of state.

Earlier, President Mamnoon Hussain arrived here for a two-day visit to represent Pakistan at ceremonies marking the inauguration of Mr Erdogan.

President Hussain was received at Ankara airport by chairman of the Turkey-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other high-ranking officials.

“Coming to Turkey is like coming home,” Mr Hussain said on the occasion. He expressed the hope that his visit would reinforce efforts for even closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2014