"This cabinet reshuffling as well as the appointment of the new people will make no change because the president exercises all the powers and the Prime Minister has no power at all," Yilmaz said.
Yilmaz explained that the reshuffle would just provide a false comfort for those who want changes.
"This was done only for domestic, internal purposes to create an image that it is something real, that this cabinet is going to make a change. But in fact the old one was under the shadow of the president and the new one will continue under the shadow of the president," the politician added.
The Turkish president's powers were significantly increased after the April 16 referendum in which over 51 percent of voters supported proposed constitutional amendments that expanded presidential powers over the legislature and the judiciary. The referendum was followed by a series of protests throughout the country. Opposition complained of the reforms being a power-grab while Erdogan called the vote the first systemic change through civil means in the history of the Turkish Republic and argued that the reforms would improve the decision-making process and bypass bottlenecks caused by parliamentary coalitions.
