EVEN before all the votes had been tallied, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, claimed victory. “My nation stood upright and undivided,” he said of the referendum on a new constitution giving the presidency immense new powers. “April 16th was a victory for all of Turkey.”
Many Turks would dispute that; and it was not even a convincing win for the president. The Yes camp, which Mr Erdogan headed, limped away with just over 51.4% of the vote. Outside observers accused the government of stacking the odds in its favor. The No camp accused it of foul play. The country is more divided than ever.
The constitutional changes that will now be implemented will bring about the most radical overhaul of the state Turkey has witnessed in over nine decades. After fresh elections in 2019, when most of the changes come into effect, Mr Erdogan will rule uncontested, appointing senior officials, judges and members of his own cabinet, with little oversight by an expanded but weakened parliament. The office of prime minister will cease to exist. Presidential elections will take place at the same time as parliamentary ones. The president will be limited to...Continue reading
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