Speaking at his inauguration, President Erdoğan said: “Our nation, who completed a century ago their national struggle with the foundation of the Republic, will crown the second century of the Republic with the Century of Türkiye.”
After taking oath at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (GNAT), and visiting Anıtkabir (Atatürk’s Mausoleum), President Erdoğan headed to the Presidential Complex for his inauguration.
Beginning his remarks by greeting the guests at the exhibition hall, President Erdoğan said: “It is with great pleasure that I welcome you on the occasion of this historic ceremony to the Presidential Complex, the home of the nation, the place that was honored with veteran status on the night of July 15. I would like to thank each and every one of you for honoring our ceremony. At the very beginning of my remarks, I praise my Lord for giving us the opportunity to serve Türkiye and the Turkish nation for another five years.”
“I would like to express my gratitude to every single member of my beloved nation who made this possible with their votes, support and goodwill. I would like to thank each and every one of my 27 million 835 thousand brothers and sisters who once again deemed us worthy of the presidential office. I congratulate all my citizens who added strength to the power of our democracy by going to the polls regardless of their different wills. I especially would like to congratulate our expatriates who traveled kilometers, sometimes waited in line for hours, and fulfilled their civic duty towards their homeland. I once again pay my respects to the earthquake victims who, despite experiencing the disaster of the century on February 6, despite being subjected to countless insults in the last two weeks just because of their voting preferences, have upheld their will. In these elections, we did not only receive the support of our own people living at home and abroad. We also received the prayers of hundreds of millions of oppressed and downtrodden hearts around the world who pinned their hopes on our country. I would like to express my gratitude to all my brothers and sisters whose eyes shine, who shed tears when they hear the word ‘Türkiye,’ who rejoice with us and grieve with us,” President Erdoğan said.
“I send my thanks to the heads of state and government who called us after the elections and shared our joy. We will never forget the support of those who stood by us during this process. On the night of May 28th, we will never forget the magnificent flood of love that overwhelmed the streets of our country and our entire kindred geography from Africa to Asia. However, we will also not forget the attempts to interfere with the national will through magazine covers. We will try to live up to this great love for Türkiye in the best way possible,” President Erdoğan said.
Noting that Türkiye has successfully left behind one of the most critical elections in its political history, President Erdoğan said: “On May 14, we had successfully completed the parliamentary dimension of the elections with 323 members of parliament as the People's Alliance. However, the election of the President of the Republic was left to the second round due to the requirement of 50+1 percent in the first round, even though we were way ahead of our opponent. On May 28, our nation went to the polls again to complete the work left unfinished with 0.5 percent of the vote. In the first round elections, our turnout exceeded 87 percent. In the second round, we again reached a record participation level of 85 percent.”
“WE WILL EMBRACE ALL OUR 85 MILLION PEOPLE”
“We received 52.18 percent of the votes in the May 28 elections, in which our nation rushed to the polls, and we were honored to serve Türkiye and the Turkish nation as President for another 5 years,” President Erdoğan noted. “I wish that this honorable duty will be auspicious to all parts of our kindred geography, to humanity, and to my nation for whose sake I have dedicated my life. I hope we will be worthy of the trust of our beloved nation in our person, our party and our alliance. By saying ‘Those who work with love do not get tired,’ we will continue to produce works and services for Türkiye. We will embrace all our 85 million people, regardless of their political views, origins, affiliations and sects.
“During our 21 years in power, we have always maintained this sensitivity. While providing services, we have never cared about anyone's belief or the color of their vote. We have never practiced regionalism, partisanship or discrimination. Like Sheikh Edebali, we said ‘Let the people live so that the state lives.’ Like Yunus Emre, we said, ‘I love the created for the sake of the creator.’ Like Ahmedi Hani, we said, ‘Human being is the embroidery drawn by the greatest pen.’ Today, we follow the same light of wisdom. Today, we advocate the same ideals and principles. Today, we address all of Türkiye with the language of love of Hacı Bektaş, Yunus Emre, Pir Sultan, Mevlana, Ahmedi Hani. We act in an understanding that does not highlight hatred, anger and hostility, but glorifies love, tolerance, brotherhood and embracing. We say ‘Come, let us be one, love, be loved.’ We wholeheartedly believe that this sincere call of ours will resonate with all our 85 million people with all their colors, riches and differences.”
“ELECTION PERIOD HAS COME TO AN END AS OF THE NIGHT OF MAY 28TH”
Underscoring that Türkiye needs the energy, contribution and ideas of every single one of its citizens, President Erdoğan said: “Türkiye needs every single individual of its 85 million people to stick together like the bricks of a wall. Türkiye needs unity and solidarity more than ever. As a nation, we need to re-establish this strong unity.”
“I would like to underscore here once again that the election period has come to an end as of the night of May 28th. The national will has been manifested twice at the ballot box and the nation has made its final decision. Türkiye has entered a new path with the closing of the polls and the announcement of the results. Inshallah, the Century of Türkiye has begun and the doors of the period of our country's rise have been opened,” President Erdoğan said.
“WITH OUR NEW CABINET, WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD THE CENTURY OF TÜRKİYE BRICK BY BRICK”
“Inshallah, I will announce our new cabinet tonight. With our new cabinet, we will continue to build the Century of Türkiye brick by brick. We will hold our first cabinet meeting on Tuesday without any delay. Sticking to the election agenda means making Türkiye skid. Continuously digging into old books like a bankrupt merchant is of no benefit to our country or our nation. Together, we must look ahead, focus on the future and endeavor to say ‘new things.’ We should endeavor to build the future by learning from the past and the mistakes of the past,” President Erdoğan said.
“We have a tradition of doing internal assessment after the elections, renewing and updating ourselves,” President Erdoğan said. “We have come to this day by compensating for our shortcomings, correcting our mistakes and consolidating our strengths. We opened a new page after each election. We did not seek revenge or reckoning. Even if we were wronged, we never became one of the wrongdoers. Even though we were subjected to lies and slander, we never deviated from justice. We spoke to our own voters as well as those who did not vote for us with a language of affection.”
“We grew our humility along with our victories. However, we did not see such an attitude from the opposition in any of the 17 elections we won overwhelmingly. Unfortunately, they were not willing to abandon their old habits. They pursued their own small plans instead of the nation's interests. Rather than making a sincere self-criticism, they looked for the fault, the flaw, the reasons for their failures in the citizens. Almost every time we have extended our hand after an election, they have always greeted us with clenched fists. This time, we hope that they will display a different attitude,” President Erdoğan said.
“For the sake of Türkiye and Turkish democracy, we expect the opposition to act with a sense of responsibility. We want the entire opposition with its journalists, writers, civil society, artists, politicians to make peace with the national will. We believe that Türkiye needs a "great embrace" in this year when we are excited to reach the 100th anniversary of our Republic,” President Erdoğan underlined.
“LET US SHOULDER THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CENTURY OF TÜRKİYE TOGETHER”
“From here, I call on all my citizens to start a "brotherhood mobilization" in all our 81 provinces, including their districts, villages and households. Today is the day to be one, to be together, to reinforce our a-thousand-year-old brotherhood. Today is the day to protect the bright future of our children. Let us put aside the resentments and anger of the election period. Let's find a way to reconcile if there have been resentments, if hearts have been broken. Let us shoulder the construction of the Century of Türkiye together. Let us observe the 100th anniversary of our Republic together as 85 million people in accordance with its glory, spirit and meaning. Inshallah, I have no doubt that we will achieve this in unity and solidarity. I would like to thank all my citizens in advance for accepting our invitation,” President Erdoğan said.
Noting that the results of the May 14 and May 28 elections were very meaningful, President Erdoğan said: “Our nation once again upheld their democratic achievements and said to us ‘Don’t stop. Keep going, keep working, and keep producing services and works’. Attempts to cast a shadow over the national will were thwarted. Just like a century ago, our nation once again rejected the 'mandate and protection' proposals. The politics of works and service prevailed over populism, and it was once again understood that the prudence and discernment of our people should not be underestimated.”
“OUR PEOPLE HAVE ACCEPTED OUR CENTURY OF TÜRKİYE PROPOSAL”
Stating that Turkish democracy, which has suffered blows by coups almost every 10 years since 1950, has once again proved its maturity to the whole world, President Erdoğan said: “It has been seen that the slanders of dictatorship and autocracy uttered by those who cannot even take half of the voters to the polls are completely empty. With these elections, we have not only foiled the campaigns that have been waged against our country for decades, but also secured our future. Again, in these elections, we have seen that our proposal for the Century of Türkiye has been accepted by our people.”
“Our nation, who completed a century ago their national struggle with the foundation of the Republic, will crown the second century of the Republic with the Century of Türkiye,” President Erdoğan said. “We will implement our vision step by step over the next five years. We will follow up on all the promises we made to our people during the election campaign. As we have been doing for the past 21 years, we will hopefully deliver upon our promises one by one. We will save our democracy from the current Constitution, which is a product of the coup, and strengthen it with a libertarian, civilian and inclusive Constitution. We will continue to develop our country through investment, employment, production, exports and current account surplus. We are determined to put Ghazi Mustafa Kemal's principle of ‘peace at home, peace in the world’ into practice in its true meaning.”
“IN THE NEW PERIOD, OUR INTERLOCUTORS WILL FIND A MORE ACTIVE TÜRKİYE IN EVERY SPHERE”
“And we will do this not by turning inward and watching events from the sidelines, but by further expanding the sphere of influence of our entrepreneurial and humanitarian diplomacy. As a head of state who has twice been honored by the trust of his nation, we now have an even stronger hand in defending Türkiye’s interests. From now on, the international community will see a Türkiye, which takes more initiative in solving global crises, strives more for the establishment of peace and stability in its region, works harder for the development of the Turkish and Islamic world, and protects the oppressed more. In the new period, our interlocutors will find a Türkiye that fights terrorist organizations inside and outside its borders more decisively, that defends its own rights and the rights of its brothers and sisters in the Blue Homeland in a stronger manner, that raises the bar of success in economy and trade, security and democracy, in short a Türkiye that will be more determined, more courageous, more compassionate and more active in every sphere,” President Erdoğan said.
“WE PROMISE TO WORK WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH TO GLORIFY TÜRKİYE”
“We promise to work with all our strength to protect the glory and honor of the Republic of Türkiye, to boost its prestige and to glorify its name all over the world for the next 5 years. We pledge to protect the existence of our state, the integrity of our homeland, and the unconditional and absolute sovereignty of our nation on every ground. With the belief that ‘the effort is from us and the assistance is from Allah’, we say ‘bismillah’ for the construction of the ‘Century of Türkiye’ starting today. Inshallah, this evening we will announce our new cabinet and set off on the road. I pray that Allah may keep our path open and our good fortune everlasting,” President Erdoğan said.
President Erdoğan thanked the presidents, stakeholders of the People’s Alliance and all his guests for participating in his inauguration.
President Erdoğan also thanked each and every citizen who went to the polls and gifted Türkiye a festival of democracy with their free will, and each and every member of the 85 million-strong Turkish family.
