Yildirim stressed that the AKP is cohesive and ready to contest the elections with the same enthusiasm with which it ran before, expressing the party's belief that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will achieve a lot for Turkey from the simplest levels to the highest during his upcoming term.
He added that the elections coincide with an important event in Turkey's history, which is the centenary of the founding of the state, stressing that the party will talk during the election campaign about its future projects in the coming years, not the years of its rule, denying at the same time that "justice and development" will change the country's secular system.
Regarding his loss of the Istanbul mayor to the opposition, Binali Yildirim said that the loss enabled the residents of Istanbul to compare the work of the Justice and Development Party in the city 25 years ago and the work of the opposition that received it in 2019, which will constitute a boost for the population to preserve the Justice and Development Party in the future, especially in the next elections.
Regarding the coup in 2016 and the measures that followed, described as reprisals, Yildirim denied the occurrence of revenge against those who planned it, and stressed that all segments of the Turkish people rejected it, and what happened is that those involved are held accountable in a deterrent manner in order to ensure that such things do not recur.
presidential system
And about being the last prime minister in Turkey before the system of government turned into a presidential system, Yildirim expressed his happiness at playing this role, because the parliamentary system in Turkey created an internal conflict in the executive authority, especially after the coups in the country, where the president was granted powers greater than those stipulated. It is constitutionally due to martial law.
He referred to the demands of many politicians in Turkey that the system of government should transition from parliamentary to presidential for the benefit of the country, stressing that the Justice and Development Party has pledged since its founding in 2002 to change the system of government to presidential after many governments failed to achieve this.
He explained that the party had sought to achieve this since 2007, but the attempt to close the party after filing a lawsuit against it in the Supreme Court prevented that, and after the situation stabilized, the party put forward the idea again and it was carried out through a popular referendum.
On the accusation of some that the transition to the presidential system was designed specifically for President Erdogan, Bin Ali Yildirim denied this, and stressed that many presidents who passed through Turkey wanted to move to the presidential system.
Regarding the refusal of some leaders of the Justice and Development Party to move to the presidential system and their exit from the party, the former prime minister stressed that their departure was not for this reason alone, and considered their departure as a normal thing in political life.
Yildirim stressed that decisions are taken within the Justice and Development Party through consultations, the results of which are not satisfactory for everyone, stressing that the party does not witness any splits, as some claim.