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2017 Turkish Referendum Thread
Topic Started: Apr 16 2017, 10:18 PM (168 Views)
Webster
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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
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(The Guardian) Erdoğan says the Yes vote is clear
--The state-run Anadolu agency is reporting that President Erdoğan has called allied political leaders to congratulate them over the yes win, with the words: “May this result be fortunate for our nation.”

Reuters are reporting that Erdoğan told the prime minister and the leader of nationalist party that the results were “clear”, according to presidential sources. Sources in Erdogan’s office said he told Prime Minister Binali Yildirim he was grateful to the nation for showing its will at the polls.

State-run Anadolu agency is reporting that 51.31% of Turks have voted Yes, with 98.2% of the ballot boxes opened.
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Webster
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--#Breaking | President Erdogan congratulates heads of AK Party, MHP and BBP on referendum victory (Anadolu Agency, 16 April 2017)

--Erdogan declares referendum victory in congratulatory calls to leaders of the AKP, MHP and BBP: AA #TurkishReferendum (Benjamin harvey, Bloomberg News - 16 April 2017)

--President Erdogan reported to have called PM to congratulate on the results, said "May this result be fortunate for our nation" (Selin Girit, 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Turks based in Greece vote no
--And results have come in from Greece, where the small ethnic Turkish Muslim minority has voted 76.75% in favour of no, according to the country’s state news agency, reports Helena Smith.

At about 140,000 people, the minority accounts for just over 1% of Greece’s total population. Though Greek citizens, they have voting rights in Turkey where, to the consternation of Athens, they often look for guidance. In recent months, Greece has also received a surge in applications for political asylum from secular Turks strongly opposed to the Erdoğan regime.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) German Justice minister tweets support for incarcerated journalist
--The German justice minister, Heiko Maas, has posted a provocative tweet, saying, “We would appreciate reading analyses about the referendum in Turkey from Deniz Yücel and other incarcerated journalists as well,” referring to a German-Turkish binational reporter who has been held in Turkey for the past two months over terrorism allegations.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Confusion over number of votes counted
--There is still confusion about the number of votes counted in Turkey and any result, whether declared by the president or not, should be treated with caution. The tweet below gives a little more background: the supreme election commission is reporting that only between 65-70% of votes have been counted, while Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu is reporting that 97-98% of votes are in.
-View: https://twitter.com/eda_seyhan/status/853664178808270849

--Turkish referendum is getting messy. These are published results. But Opposition CHP and rebel nationalist Meral Akşener are challenging. (Laura Pitel, 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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--AP: Turkey's main opposition party CHP says it will challenge 37 percent of the votes counted in the #Turkeyreferendum. (CNN Turk, 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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--As far as AK Parti voters are concerned, the referendum has been won (Kareem Shaheen, The Guardian - 16 April 2017)

--Some celebrate the results on the streets of Istanbul after Turkey votes to introduce 18 constitutional amendments #TurkeyReferendum (TRT World, 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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--#BREAKING Turkey's two main opposition parties say to challenge referendum result (AFP, 16 April 2017)

--Turkish opposition parties CHP + HDP demanding recount. Concerns about disqualified + unstamped ballots: "there is manipulation" @SBSNews (Brett Mason, SBS News - 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian) (Guardian reporter) Kareem Shaheen has been speaking to AKP supporters.

I am so happy I have tears in my eyes,” said Irtan Ulu, an AKP voter who was at the party headquarters in Ankara to celebrate their victory. “My heart was about to explode because our society has been swinging so much from side to side.”

Ogu Zhan, another voter, said Erdoğan’s victory in the referendum is a signal of Turkey’s role in the region as a defender of the oppressed in the Middle East, a common refrain for party supporters. “When Turkey wins the whole world wins because we will be the voice of the oppressed around the world,” he said.
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Webster
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Posted Image
--Erdogan's 'Yes' lead narrows in final stages of Turkey vote count. (Reuters, 16 April 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Democratic party have taken to Twitter to complain about the manner in which the voting took place today. They argue that by reporting that reporting that more results had been counted than was officially the case “manipulated public perception”, while the decision to allow unstamped ballot papers has cast doubt over the result.

The party adds: “We announce to the public that, until our objections receive a full response, the outcome of the #referendum is not final.”
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Webster
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HDP tweets....

(1) Our spox: AA states 99% of ballot boxes have been opened. But the Supreme Election Council states that 91% of ballot boxes have been opened.
(2) Our spox: This is a manipulation on public perception, and casts a shadow on the validity of the results. #referendum
(3) What percentage of unstamped ballots was Yes, and what was No? The answer to this question alone will expose the extent of the controversy.
(4) Our spox: We announce to the public that,until our objections receive a full response,the outcome of the #referendum is not final.
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(The Guardian) Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım gives victory speech
--Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım has declared a yes vote in the Turkish referendum, calling it “a new page in our country’s democracy”.

“We are one body, we are one nation,” he said, after exit polls suggested the AKP secured 51% of the vote in the national referendum.

“Everyone should be rest assured we want to have peace in our country, and thank you for your vote – we will use your vote in the best possible way,” he told the crowds.

He thanked Turkish citizens, including those who live overseas, as well as party workers.

In the wake of the closely-fought referendum he called for unity. “We have to look after our united country, it is what makes us a real democracy to have different opinions while not trying to dominate each other,” he said. “The country voted, they said yes.”

“We said we would respect whatever the country decided and we still say this. Turkish people cast their votes and they have voted yes to a presidential system for this country.”

But striking a more combative tone, he added that the vote showed Turkey did “not need external forces”.

“We will not bow our head to any foreign powers and this is shown once again with this yes vote.”

He attacked the participants of last year’s failed coup, which resulted on a merciless crack down. “We have given them to best possible answer today. With this vote today Turkish democracy has become stronger and more mature. This is now showing to the whole world what a good democracy we have.”

He added: “There are no losers, Turkey has won – as a country we are all winners. We have to be united, we have to be stronger, we have to one turkey as a whole.”

Addressing crowds outside his Istanbul residence after the press conference, he said: “Victory in a vote with 86% turnout mustn’t be belittled”. To cheers he also tells the crowds that he will discuss reinstating the death penalty with his prime minster, saying there could be another referendum on it.
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(The Guardian) President Erdoğan: Turkey has made a historic decision
--In a press conference following his party’s declaration of victory, President Erdoğan said that unofficial results showed around 25m yes votes, 1.3m ahead of no.

In an unusually muted victory speech Erdoğan said foreign powers should respect the referendum’s outcome. He says: “We’ve got a lot to do, we are on this path but it’s time to change gears and go faster.” Erdoğan claimed support for constitutional change has risen in south-east Turkey and hailed a “profound” jump in support for a presidential system that was unpopular just two years ago. Overseas votes were a “big part” of that success, he added.

He said new executive presidency would likely go into effect after the 2019 election. He told the country is in an important “civilian change”. He said: “We are carrying out the most important reform in the history of our nation.” The president called the referendum a victory for everyone who voted, whether they voted yes or no.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Residents in several neighbourhoods of Istanbul are banging pots and pans from windows in protest at the referendum result, Reuters has reported.

There were such protests in at least four districts of Turkey’s biggest city, which voted no. Video and pictures on social media showed small pockets of protesters taking to the streets in some areas.
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