‘Victory’ for Erdogan as rivals dispute poll result

THE leader of Turkey's main nationalist party last night declared victory for the referendum to expand the powers of the country's presidency, although opposition figures indicated they would challenge the result.

Nationalist Action Party head Devlet Bahceli said in a statement that Turkish voters chose of their free will to move the country from a parliamentary to a presidential system of government.

Mr Bahceli called the outcome “a very important success; a win that makes neglect and denial impossible”.

He said Turkey rejected international “pressure, blackmail, imposition, force and threats by the whole world to put the ‘no' choice forward.”

The party, the fourth largest in parliament, backed Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the governing Justice and Development Party in their push to change Turkey's parliamentary system into a presidential one.

The main opposition party said it will challenge 37% of the ballot boxes counted.

Republic People's Party, or CHP, deputy chairman Erdal Aksunger predicted the figure could even increase to 60%.

Mr Aksunger said: “Since this morning, we have determined some 2.5 million problematic votes.”

The country's pro-Kurdish opposition party, which also opposed the constitutional changes, says it plans to object to two-thirds of the ballots.

The Peoples' Democratic Party said on its Twitter account: “Our data indicates a manipulation in the range of 3 to 4%.”

Earlier, the death toll from a fight outside a polling station in Turkey has risen to three as voters cast their ballots in the historic referendum.

The Anadolu news agency said a quarrel between two families turned violent in the south eastern province of Diyarbakir.

The private Dogan news agency reported it as caused by “differences in political opinion”.

With a “yes” vote, Turkey's parliamentary system of government will be replaced by a presidential one, granting the president powers to appoint ministers, senior government officials and some judges.

The result of the referendum will determine Turkey's political future with the EU and the world.

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