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Turkey on Wednesday issued a decree that transfers some powers to the president, as the country moves to an executive presidential system following President Tayyip Erdogan's win in last month's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The decree, issued in the government's official gazette, makes changes to laws dating from 1924 to 2017, removes references to the prime minister whose office has been abolished and replaces them with "president."

Read more:The impact of Turkey's election: Erdogan's sweeping new powers

The changes mean the president can

Read more:Could Turkey's opposition reset ties with the EU?

When the changes will come into effect: The changes in the latest decree will take effect when Erdogan takes the oath of office, which is expected to happen in parliament on July 8 or 9.

The new presidential system: In a constitutional referendum in April 2017, a slim majority of Turkish voters approved the presidential system. The constitutional change allowed the winner of the 2018presidential election to assume full control of the government.

Read more:Opinion: Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins, democracy loses

Term limits: The president is limited to two five-year presidential terms, but if the parliament calls early elections during the second term the president may run for a third term.

Erdogan's rise to power: Erdogan served as prime minister of Turkey, formerly the country's most powerful post,from 2003 until 2014. Plans to alter the system to place Turkey's meaningful political power in his new rolewere already in motion before his job swap in 2014; before the April 2017 referendum, the presidential role was largely ceremonial. Erdoganwas reelected president in snap presidential elections in June 2018, having called them more than a year ahead of schedule. That was the final hurdle to implementing his desired reforms, opposition candidates had pledged to repeal some or all of them if they had won.

On Wednesday, Turkey's state election commission announced its finalvote tally, in which President Erdogan won 52.59 percent of the vote, followed by opposition candidate Muharrem Ince of the CHP party with 30.64 percent and jailed pro-Kurdish candidate Selahattin Demirtas with 8.4 percent.

In Turkey and abroad, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a polarizing effect. He has been described as a neo-Ottoman "sultan" as well as an authoritarian leader. From his early beginnings campaigning for Islamist causes to leading NATO's second largest military as the president of Turkey, DW explores the rise of the Turkish leader.

After years of moving up the ranks of the Islamist-rooted Welfare Party, Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994. But four years later, the party was ruled unconstitutional on the grounds it threatened Turkey's secularist nature, and was disbanded. He was later jailed for four months for a controversial public reading of a poem, and consequently lost his mayorship over the conviction.

Erdogan co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won a majority of seats in 2002. He was made prime minister in 2003. During his first years in office, Erdogan worked on providing social services, improving the economy and implementing democratic reforms. But some have argued that his premiership was also marked by a religious shift in the political sphere.

While Turkey's constitution guarantees the country's secular nature, observers believe Erdogan has managed to purge the "old secularist guard." The Turkish leader has said that one of his goals is to raise a "pious generation." Erdogan's supporters have hailed the Turkish leader's initiatives, arguing that they've reversed years of discrimination against practicing Muslims.

In July 2016, a failed military coup targeting Erdogan and his government left more than 200 people dead, including civilians and soldiers. In the wake of the coup attempt, Erdogan declared a state of emergency and vowed to "clean up" the military. "In Turkey, armed forces are not governing the state or leading the state. They cannot," he said.

Since the failed coup, authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown, arresting more than 50,000 people in the armed forces, police, judiciary, schools and media. Erdogan has blamed Fethullah Gulen, a self-exiled cleric in the US and former ally, and his supporters of trying to undermine the government. But rights groups believe the allegations are a means to solidify his power and influence.

While Erdogan enjoys significant support in Turkey and the Turkish expatriate community, he has been criticized for his heavy-handed policies and military campaigns against Kurdish militants following the collapse of a peace process in 2015. This January, Erdogan launched a deadly offensive into the northern Syrian enclave of Afrin, an operation that was widely condemned by human rights groups.

Having served as Turkey's president since 2014, Erdogan successfully extended his time in office after winning elections in June. The elections marked Turkey's transition to an executive-style presidency. Observers believe the elections will herald a new era for Turkey for better or worse.

Author: Lewis Sanders IV

law/msh (AP, Reuters)

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