Turkey’s Erdogan eyes referendum win; critics claim fraud
ISTANBUL — Voters in Turkey’s landmark referendum Sunday appeared to approve constitutional changes that will greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to near-complete results carried by Turkey’s official news agency.
Opposition figures, however, vowed to challenge many of the ballots in the tight race.
Erdogan has long sought to broaden his powers, but a previous attempt failed after the governing party that he co-founded fell short of enough votes to pass the reforms without holding a referendum.
If officially confirmed, Sunday’s outcome is expected to have a huge effect on Turkey’s long-term political future and its international relations.
The results reported by the staterun Anadolu Agency — 51.3 per cent of the vote to the “yes” side to 48.7 per cent for the “no” side with 98 per cent of the votes counted — would fall short of the sweeping victory Erdogan had sought. Still, it would cement his hold on the country’s governance.
Opponents had argued the plan hands too much power to a man who they say has shown increasingly autocratic tendencies.
Erdogan supporters gathered outside the governing AK Party headquarters in Istanbul and Ankara to celebrate, with the crowd in Istanbul sending fireworks into the night sky.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim declared victory, saying unofficial results show a win for the “yes” vote.
“We are brothers. We are one body, one nation,” Yildirim said at the ruling party’s headquarters in Ankara. “A new page has opened in our democratic history with this vote. Be sure that we will use this result for our people’s welfare and peace in the best way.”
The main opposition party, however, cast doubt on the results of the tight vote. Erdal Aksunger, vice chairman of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, said they would challenge 37 per cent of the ballot boxes and accusing Anadolu’s results of being inaccurate.
The opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party said on its Twitter account: “Our data indicates a manipulation in the range of 3 to 4 per cent.”
The country’s pro-Kurdish opposition party, which also opposed the constitutional changes, says it plans to object to two-thirds of the ballots.
An unprecedented decision by Turkey’s Supreme Election board to accept as valid ballot papers that don’t have the official stamp also drew the ire of the CHP, with the party’s deputy chairman, Bulent Tezcan, saying the decision had left the referendum “with a serious legitimacy problem.”
The board made the announcement after many voters complained about being given ballot papers without the official stamp. The board said the ballot papers would be considered invalid only if it was proven that they were fraudulently cast.
More than 55 million people in this country of about 80 million were registered to vote, while a further 1.3 million Turks cast their ballots abroad.
If a “yes” victory is officially announced by the country’s electoral board, Turkish voters will have approved 18 constitutional changes that will replace their country’s parliamentary system of government with a presidential one, abolishing the office of the prime minister and granting sweeping executive powers to the president. The changes will come into effect with the next general election, scheduled for 2019.
The changes allow the president to appoint ministers, senior government officials and half the members of Turkey’s highest judicial body, as well as to issue decrees and declare states of emergency. They set a limit of two five-year terms for presidents and also allow the president to remain at the helm of a political party.