Narrow margin gives Erdogan wide powers
ankara — Votes for constitutional change to hand President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers held a narrow lead with almost all ballot boxes opened on Sunday, but Turkey’s three largest cities and the mainly Kurdish southeast looked set to vote “No”.
“Yes” votes stood at 51.3 per cent after 99 per cent of ballots had been opened for counting, staterun Anadolu news agency said, though a lag between opening and counting them could see the lead tighten further in the final stages.
Erdogan called Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the leader of the nationalist MHP party, which supported the “Yes” vote, to congratulate them, presidential sources said. They quoted Erdogan as saying the referendum result was clear.
A “Yes” vote would replace Turkey’s parliamentary democracy with an all-powerful presidency and may see Erdogan in office until at least 2029, in the most radical change to the country’s political system in its modern history.
The outcome will also shape Turkey’s strained relations with the European Union. The Nato member state has curbed the flow of migrants — mainly refugees from wars in Syria and Iraq — into the bloc but Erdogan says he may review the deal after the vote. —
istanbul— — Turkey’s two main opposition parties on Sunday said they would challenge the results putting the ‘Yes’ camp ahead in the referendum on expanding the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after alleged violations.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said that whatever the result, it would challenge two-thirds of the vote, saying: “There is an indication of a 3-4 percentage point manipulation of the vote.”
The deputy head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Bulent Tezcan, denounced “violations” by the election authorities while another CHP deputy head, Erdal Aksunger, said it could appeal up to 60 percent of the vote.
The results from Sunday’s vote are expected to have a huge effect on Turkey’s long-term political future and on its relations with the European Union and the world. Anadolu said 51.4 percent voted “yes” and backed the constitutional changes to replace Turkey’s parliamentary system with a presidential vote, with 48.6 percent voting “no” against them.
More than 55 million people in this country of about 80 million were registered to vote and more than 1.3 million Turkish voters cast their ballots abroad.
Officials said Erdogan was already thanking allies and supporters for the passage of the constitutional changes as the vote neared its end. Erdogan supporters were celebrating with fireworks in Istanbul as the president said he is “grateful” to the people who “reflected their will.’
If the “yes” vote prevails, the 18 constitutional changes will replace Turkey’s parliamentary system of government with a presidential one, abolishing the office of the prime minister and granting sweeping executive powers to the president.
Erdogan and his supporters say the “Turkish-style” presidential system would bring stability and prosperity in a country rattled by last year’s coup attempt and a series of devastating attacks by the Daesh group and Kurdish militants.
But opponents fear the changes will lead to autocratic one-man rule, ensuring that the 63-year-old Erdogan, who has been accused of repressing rights and freedoms, could govern until 2029 with few checks and balances.
Erdogan described the referendum as an opportunity for “change and transformation” as he voted Sunday in Istanbul, where blackclad bodyguards with automatic weapons stood guard outside the polling station.
“We need to make a decision that is beyond the ordinary,” Erdogan said. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party and top “no” campaigner,
God willing i believe our people will decide to open the path to much more rapid development. i believe in my people’s democratic common sense. Tayyip Erdogan,
We will pursue a legal battle. if the irregularities are not fixed, there will be a serious legitimacy discussion Bulent Tezcan, CHP deputy chairman i don’t think one-man rule is such a scary thing. Turkey has been ruled in the past by one man. Bayram Seker, A Turkish voter
called the referendum a vote on Turkey’s future. “We hope the results will be good and together we can have the opportunity to discuss Turkey’s other fundamental problems,” he said. The ballots themselves did not include the referendum question it was assumed to be understood. Voters used an official stamp to select between “yes” and “no.” — Agencies
Turkish President 80M is the population of the country 55M is the number of registered voters