Turks’ YES vote for dictator

President wins supreme power amid fraud and intimidation claims at polls

TURKEY’S president Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory yesterday in a landmark referendum to grant him sweeping new powers which could see him remain in post until 2029.

The parliamentary system of government will be replaced by an all-powerful presidential one, with the office of prime minister abolished.

Mr Erdogan said he had won by a margin of 1.3million votes. But Turkey’s main opposition party immediately challenged the results amid claims that a large number of votes had not been officially stamped. Critics said there was a ‘serious legitimacy problem’ with the vote after a divisive and heavily one-sided campaign in which Mr Erdogan’s Yes side dominated the airwaves and billboards across the country.

Last night, with a small number of votes left to count, the election commission said the Yes campaign had won 51.3 per cent of the vote with 48.7 per cent of people voting No. It is believed the turnout was 86 per cent.

But in Turkey’s three biggest cities – Istanbul, Izmir and the capital Ankara – the No camp prevailed. Mr Erdogan, addressing crowds outside his Istanbul residence, said efforts by critics to ‘belittle’ the result would be in vain.

And he told supporters chanting for the death penalty to be reinstated that he would discuss the issue with other political leaders and may even seek a new referendum.

Describing yesterday’s result as a ‘historic decision’ he said: ‘April 16 is the victory of all who said yes or no, of the whole 80million, of the whole of Turkey of 780,000-square kilometres.’ The prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said: ‘A new page has been opened in our democratic history. We are brothers, one body, one nation.’

Convoys of cars honking their horns and with passengers waving flags from the windows clogged a main avenue in Ankara as they headed towards the governing AK party’s headquarters to celebrate. A chant of Erdogan’s name rang out from loudspeakers and campaign buses.

Mr Erdogan, 63, was prime minister from 2003 until he became Turkey’s first directly elected president in 2014. Under the new rules, he could stay in office until 2029 and he has the power to personally hire and fire cabinet members, top judges and military commanders. The package

‘Beatings and detentions’

gives the president the authority to draft the budget, declare a state of emergency and issue decrees overseeing ministries without parliamentary approval.

The president would also have a five-year tenure, for a maximum of two terms.

The changes represent the most sweeping programme of constitutional changes since Turkey became a republic almost a century ago. They will come into effect with the next general election, scheduled for 2019.

Mr Erdogan and his supporters say the presidential system will bring stability and prosperity in a country rattled by last year’s failed coup and a series of deadly attacks by Islamic State and Kurdish militants.

They also say it will help modernise the country, which has had strained relations with the European Union.

But opponents fear the changes will lead to autocratic one-man rule, ensuring Mr Erdogan, who has been accused of repressing rights and freedoms, could govern for another decade with few checks and balances. Critics add that it is a step towards greater authoritarianism in a country where some 47,000 people have been jailed pending trial and 120,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs in a crackdown following the failed coup.

Supporters of the No vote have complained of intimidation during the campaign, recording more than 100 incidents including beatings, detentions and threats.

Turkey’s main opposition demanded a recount of up to 60 per cent of the votes over claims a large number had not been officially stamped, party deputy chairman Erdal Aksunger said. The Republican People’s Party had earlier said that ‘many illegal acts’ were carried out in favour of the government in the referendum. Mr Aksunger added yesterday: ‘Since this morning we have determined some 2.5million problematic votes.’

Turkey’s High Electoral Board said it would count ballots that had not been stamped by its officials as valid unless they could be proved fraudulent.

Relations between Turkey and Europe hit a low during the referendum campaign when Germany and the Netherlands barred Turkish ministers from holding rallies in support of the changes. Mr Erdogan called the moves ‘Nazi acts’.