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Turkey referendum: Campaigning ends ahead of landmark vote | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
The final day of campaigning in Turkey has ended ahead of a referendum on whether to grant sweeping new powers to the president. | |
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to replace the parliamentary system with an executive presidency. | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to replace the parliamentary system with an executive presidency. |
Approval could see him stay in office until 2029. | Approval could see him stay in office until 2029. |
Supporters say a "yes" vote would streamline and modernise the country; opponents fear the move would lead to increasingly authoritarian rule. | Supporters say a "yes" vote would streamline and modernise the country; opponents fear the move would lead to increasingly authoritarian rule. |
If the referendum vote falls in Mr Erdogan's favour, it would give him vastly enhanced powers to appoint cabinet ministers, issue decrees, choose senior judges and dissolve parliament. | |
The campaign, which has polarised the country, could bring about the biggest change to the governing system since the modern republic was founded almost a century ago. | |
It takes place under a state of emergency which was imposed following a failed coup last July. A government crackdown since then has seen tens of thousands of people arrested. | |
Read more: | Read more: |
President Erdogan told supporters at one of his final rallies on Saturday in Istanbul's Tuzla district: "The new constitution will bring stability and trust that is needed for our country to develop and grow. Turkey can leap into the future." | |
Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister. | Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister. |
The referendum on constitutional change would abolish the post of prime minister, allowing the president to bring all state bureaucracy under his control. | |
The president says the new system will resemble those in France and the US and will bring calm in a time of turmoil marked by a Kurdish insurgency, Islamist militancy and conflict in neighbouring Syria that has led to a huge refugee influx. | The president says the new system will resemble those in France and the US and will bring calm in a time of turmoil marked by a Kurdish insurgency, Islamist militancy and conflict in neighbouring Syria that has led to a huge refugee influx. |
What's in the new constitution? | What's in the new constitution? |
Critics fear the change would put too much power in the president's grasp, amounting to one-man rule, without the checks and balances of other presidential systems. | Critics fear the change would put too much power in the president's grasp, amounting to one-man rule, without the checks and balances of other presidential systems. |
They say his ability to retain ties to a political party - Mr Erdogan could resume leadership of the AK Party (AKP) he co-founded - would end any chance of presidential impartiality. | They say his ability to retain ties to a political party - Mr Erdogan could resume leadership of the AK Party (AKP) he co-founded - would end any chance of presidential impartiality. |
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told a rally in Ankara that a "yes" vote would endanger the whole country. | Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told a rally in Ankara that a "yes" vote would endanger the whole country. |
"We will put 80 million people on to a bus... we don't know where it is headed. We are putting 80 million on a bus with no brakes," he said. | "We will put 80 million people on to a bus... we don't know where it is headed. We are putting 80 million on a bus with no brakes," he said. |
The referendum has a simple "yes" or "no" choice on whether to endorse parliament's approval of a new draft constitution. | The referendum has a simple "yes" or "no" choice on whether to endorse parliament's approval of a new draft constitution. |
The draft states that the next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on 3 November 2019. | |
The president would have a five-year tenure, for a maximum of two terms. | The president would have a five-year tenure, for a maximum of two terms. |
Campaigning on the referendum concluded at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Saturday, with voting due to get under way in the country's east at 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on Sunday and an hour later elsewhere. | |
Some 55 million people are eligible to vote across 167,000 polling stations. | Some 55 million people are eligible to vote across 167,000 polling stations. |
Results are expected late on Sunday evening. | Results are expected late on Sunday evening. |