Presidential Complex
| Presidential Complex | |
|---|---|
| Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi | |
 |
|
| General information | |
| Town or city | Ankara |
| Country | Turkey |
| Opened | 29 October 2014 |
| Known for | Presidential use |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 1,150 |
The Presidential Complex (Turkish: Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi) is the presidential palace of the Republic of Turkey. The complex is located in the Beştepe neighborhood of Ankara, inside the Atatürk Forest Farm.
In accordance with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "New Turkey" concept, it is envisaged that the Çankaya Presidential Mansion will become the Prime Ministerial compound and the president will move to the newly built palace. This occurred soon after the June 2015 general election, when the palace was officially made the residence of the President of Turkey. It was formally inaugurated as the official residence of the President by Erdoğan on the country's Republic Day, October 29, 2014.
Before receiving the name of Külliye, meaning "complex", typically a religious complex centered on a mosque, the palace was referred to as Ak Saray (meaning "white palace"), also used as a critical reference to Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), with which Erdoğan has kept close ties despite being constitutionally required to be politically neutral. Due to its construction being barred by the courts yet continuing regardless, it is regularly referred to by some opposition politicians and supporters as the "Kaç-Ak Saray", the word kaçak in Turkish meaning "illegal". Erdogan proposed to call it Cumhurbaşkanlığı Külliyesi, referring to the Millet Mosque in the complex. This was formally adopted as the complex's new name on 3 July 2015. The building cost was double the initial estimate of more than 600 million USD.
On 10 July 2015, the Turkish Council of State found that the construction of the palace violated the law and ordered it to be vacated. However, the Presidency citing paragraph 2 of Article 105 of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey has stated that the decision is ultra-vires. Paragraph 2 of Article 105 states as follows: "No appeal shall be made to any judicial authority, including the Constitutional Court, against the decisions and orders signed by the President of the Republic on his/her own initiative". The Turkish Constitution mandates a strict separation of powers between the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament. As such the day to day management, logistics and expenditure of the Turkish Presidency etc is not open to Judicial and/or Parliamentary scrutiny due to its independence.
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