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| 2017 Turkish Referendum Thread | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 16 2017, 10:18 PM (165 Views) | |
| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:18 PM Post #1 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Turkey’s landmark referendum. Voting is under way for the historic vote that will determine whether President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be allowed to enforce sweeping new powers. Erdoğan wants to replace the parliamentary system with an executive presidency – arguing that it will bring stability and modernise the country. But opponents fear it could lead to greater authoritarianism, a lack of parliamentary and judicial oversight and see Erdoğan remain in office until 2029. About 55 million people are eligible to vote across 167,000 polling stations, with the results expected to be announced later this evening. |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:20 PM Post #2 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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....events as they happened earlier Sunday....![]() (The Guardian) Turkish voters were deciding in a historic referendum Sunday whether to approve constitutional changes that would greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 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. More than 55 million people in this country of about 80 million were registered to vote. Polls in the country’s 32 eastern provinces closed at 4pm (1300 GMT), and were to close an hour later in the more populous west. The ballots themselves did not include the referendum question [as] it was assumed to be understood. Voters used an official stamp to select between yes and no. At one Istanbul polling station, eager voters lined up outside before it opened at 8am. “We are here early to say no for our country, for our children and grandchildren,” said retired tax officer Murtaza Ali Turgut. His wife Zeynep agreed, saying: “I was going to come sleep here last night to vote at first light.” Istanbul resident Husnu Yahsi, 61, also said he was voting no. “I don’t want to get on a bus with no brake system. A one-man system is like that,” he said. In another Istanbul neighbourhood, a yes voter expressed full support for Erdoğan. “Yes, yes, yes! Our leader is the gift of God to us,” said Mualla Sengul. “We will always support him. He’s governing so well.” The official Anadolu news agency reported that military helicopters flew ballots and elections officers to some districts of the south-eastern predominantly Kurdish region of Diyarbakır due to security reasons. |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:23 PM Post #3 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --If this 69 yo man lugging his oxygen tank with him to the referendum can vote, you can vote too (Kareem Shaheen, The Guardian - 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:24 PM Post #4 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) (Guardian reporter) Kareem Shaheen is in Turkey, tracking developments as they happen today. He’s been speaking to voters in Ayranci, but many do not want to give their names. At the Çankaya primary school in the largely secularist neighbourhood of Ayranci, the voting was orderly and well-organised and people flowed in and out to vote for much of the afternoon. This is a polling station in which many former presidents of Turkey cast their vote, and one of the people who voted here today was Gen Hulusi Akar, the chief of staff of the armed forces. Didem Yalinay, a woman who voted no in the referendum, said she did so because of the government’s abuses against the opposition. “People in Turkey do not feel good about this oppression and they have a chance to say no today,” she said. “I believe in the wisdom of the people of this country. I said no because I want justice.” An elderly couple, 91 and 87 years old, arrived with their granddaughter to cast their vote despite the grandmother being in a wheelchair. They said they wanted to do their duty by voting despite their ailments. They described themselves as “children of the republic”. In tears, the granddaughter, who voted no along with her family, said: “This is a war without weapons. I am here to save my country.” |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:25 PM Post #5 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Reports of violence during voting --There have been reports of violence near a polling station in the south-east of Turkey. There are differing reports about injuries: Sky are saying three have died, while others are reporting two deaths. The state news agency Anadolu said a land feud may have been the reason for Sunday’s deadly quarrel, while the private Dogan news agency reported it as caused by “differences in political opinion”. The cause of the incident, in Diyarbakkır province, was not immediately clear but there appears to have been a dispute between two rival groups. |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:26 PM Post #6 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--Two killed in gunfight at polilng station in #Diyarbakir during #TurkishReferendum Read more http://ow.ly/UeRZ30aTppu #EURONEWS (EuroNews, 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:49 PM Post #7 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --Key features of the Turkish-style executive presidency by Teneo Intelligence (Wolgang Piccoli, Dir. of Research, Teneo Intelligence - 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:50 PM Post #8 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Polls close in Turkey --The polls have now closed in Turkey, although those who have been queuing to vote will be allowed to cast their ballot. Turkey has no official exit polls and media are barred from publishing or broadcasting election results until the High Election Board lifts the ban at 1800 GMT or earlier. |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:51 PM Post #9 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) Turkish Referendum - What You Need To Know --If you haven’t already this comprehensive piece by Kareem Shaheen is a must read. Turks will go to the polls on 16 April to vote on constitutional amendments that would transform the country from a parliamentary democracy into a presidential system. The package, which includes 18 amendments, is being put to the people because the proposed changes to the constitution did not get the backing of two-thirds of MPs in parliament. In this case the reforms were passed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 16 January with a simple majority, and then approved by the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The referendum could bring about arguably the most significant political development since the Turkish republic was declared in 1923. The determination with which Erdoğan has pursued it has seen him dispatch ministers to Europe in search of expatriate voters, and attack the Dutch government as “Nazi remnants” when it cancelled campaign events. Under the new system, Erdoğan will be able to stand in two more election cycles, which means if he wins the 2019 and 2024 polls he could potentially stay on as a powerful head of state until 2029. He could also return to the leadership of the Justice and Development party (AKP), which he co-founded, and which holds the overwhelming majority in parliament. The post of president used to be largely ceremonial but had some influence over policymaking. Through sheer force of personality, and the loyalty he still commands among the AKP electorate and their lawmakers, Erdoğan has made it a much more powerful job. Should the referendum go his way, it will be more powerful still. -Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/10/turkish-referendum-all-you-need-to-know |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:53 PM Post #10 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--TR electoral body says it will consider vote envelopes not stamped w offical stamp as valid,unless there's evidence they came fm outside. (CNN Turk, 16 April 2017) --Turkey election board rules that ballots without authenticating stamps can be counted unless proven to have been brought from outside: (Benjamin Harvey, Bloomberg News - 16 April 2017) --UPDATE: Turkish opposition CHP official says electoral board decision to accept unstamped ballots will cause 'serious legitimacy problem' (Reuters, 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 10:57 PM Post #11 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) First Results --TRT, the international news platform of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation is reporting that the first results have come in Turkey’s referendum – At 14:58GMT, with 32.35% of votes counted: Yes: 61.3% No: 38.7% |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 11:00 PM Post #12 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--#BREAKING: First results in Turkey’s referendum – 14:58GMT Votes counted: 32.35% Yes: 61.3% No: 38.7%#TurkeysChoice #TurkeyReferendum (TRT World, 16 April 2017) --Embargo appears to have been basically scrapped. Early results show yes in lead with just over a third of votes counted. (Mark Lowen, BBC News - 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 11:03 PM Post #13 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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![]() --Early results on NTV show "Yes." with comfortable lead--but way too early to tell this way or that way. #Turkeyreferendum (Louie Fishman, City University of New York - 16 April 2017) --After 25% of ballots counted yes 63.2% No 36.8% #TurkeyReferendum Ankara Istanbul Izmir will be decisive Too early to call (Amberin Zaman, Wilson Center for Policy - 16 April 2017) |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 11:03 PM Post #14 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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(The Guardian) While overall results are showing so far with 30% of ballots opened a landslide for the yes campaign, early results from Kurdish areas in the southeast show an expected landslide for the no campaign. Kurdish areas have been hit particularly hard by the escalation in violence following the breakdown of the ceasefire between the PKK and the government. The pro-Kurdish opposition party, HDP, has endured a broad crackdown on its officials and its two co-chiefs are in jail. |
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| Webster | Apr 16 2017, 11:08 PM Post #15 |
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Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
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--40% of votes counted an hour after final polls close. You have to hand it to this country - 55m voters and they count extremely quickly (Mark Lowen, BBC News - 16 April 2017) --#TurkeysChoice: Results in #TurkeyReferendum as of 15:11GMT Votes counted: 46.81% Yes: 58.18% No: 41.82%#TurkeyReferendum (TRT World, 16 April 2017) --Revising turnout to 83.89 % for #Turkeyreferendum with 44.4% of ballots counted Yes:58.6% No: 41.4% (Amberin Zaman, Wilson Center for Policy - 16 April 2017) |
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