ANKARA - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the oath of office for a new presidential term on Saturday after winning the election last weekend.

“I, as president, swear upon my honour and integrity before the great Turkish nation and history to safeguard the existence and independence of the state,” Mr Erdogan said during a ceremony at the Parliament in Ankara, which was broadcast live. 

Mr Erdogan received his mandate from the interim Parliament Speaker before taking the oath.

Turkey’s longest-serving leader, Mr Erdogan garnered 52.2 per cent support in the May 28 run-off vote.

His election victory upended the predictions of most opinion polls and came despite a cost-of-living crisis that was seen to have dampened his prospects.

His new five-year mandate allows Mr Erdogan to pursue what have been increasingly authoritarian policies that have polarised the country, a Nato member, and strengthened its position as a regional military power.

After taking the oath in Parliament, a ceremony will be held at the presidential palace, attended by high-level officials from 78 countries and international organisations.

They include Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

Mr Erdogan is set to name his Cabinet later on Saturday, and is expected to signal a change in his unorthodox approach to economic policy.

He is almost certain to include former economy chief Mehmet Simsek in his new Cabinet, Reuters reported earlier this week.

The move would signal a potential return to more economic orthodoxy including eventual interest rate hikes.

Mr Simsek was highly regarded by investors when he served as finance minister and deputy prime minister between 2009 and 2018.

A key role for him now could mark a departure from years of policy that was underpinned by low interest rates despite high inflation, and heavy state control of markets.

Mr Erdogan, 69, became prime minister in 2003 after his AK Party won an election in late 2002 following the worst economic crisis of Turkey since the 1970s.

In 2014, he became the country’s first popularly elected president and was elected again in 2018 after securing new executive powers for the presidency in a 2017 referendum.

The May 14 presidential election and May 28 run-off were pivotal given the opposition had been confident of ousting Mr Erdogan and reversing many of his policies, including proposing sharp interest rate hikes to counter inflation, running at 44 per cent in April.

In his post-election victory speech, Mr Erdogan said inflation, which hit a 24-year peak of 85 per cent last year before easing, was Turkey’s most urgent issue.

Analysts have warned that if the current policies continue, the economy is headed for turmoil given depleted foreign reserves, an expanding state-backed protected deposits scheme, and unanchored inflation expectations.

The lira has undergone a series of crashes in recent years and hit new all-time lows in the days after the vote. REUTERS