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| Turkey referendum: Campaign on Erdogan powers 'unequal' | Turkey referendum: Campaign on Erdogan powers 'unequal' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Turkey's referendum campaign was "unequal", with critics suffering restrictions and state resources being misused, international monitors say. | |
| The vote itself was marred by late procedural changes, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) added. | |
| In the referendum, voters gave sweeping new powers to President Erdogan. | In the referendum, voters gave sweeping new powers to President Erdogan. |
| The narrow vote was ruled valid by Turkey's electoral body, despite claims of irregularities by the opposition. | The narrow vote was ruled valid by Turkey's electoral body, despite claims of irregularities by the opposition. |
| President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's push for an executive presidency succeeded with 51.4% voting for it. | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's push for an executive presidency succeeded with 51.4% voting for it. |
| "[The] referendum took place on an unlevel playing field and the two sides of the campaign did not have equal opportunities," the OSCE said in a statement. | |
| "The campaign rhetoric was tarnished by some senior officials equating No supporters with terrorist sympathisers, and in numerous cases No supporters faced police interventions and violent scuffles at their events." | |
| What now? By Mark Lowen, BBC News, Ankara | |
| This was a damning verdict by the observer mission. | |
| From biased media coverage to a misuse of administrative resources by the president and government; and from restrictions on free speech to a decision to accept unstamped ballots, which "contradicted the law"; the election observers concluded that the referendum did not fulfil international standards. So what now? | |
| It's sure to embolden the opposition in its attempts to challenge the results. But that is an uphill struggle in a country where the state machinery is so heavily controlled by the president and his inner circle and where around 80% of the media is pro-government, pushing its interpretation of the facts. | |
| What's more certain is that it'll shape the response to the referendum by European leaders and officials. They won't rush to congratulate a victory whose legitimacy has been placed in serious doubt. And as government supporters double down, convinced of their win, the chasm between Turkey and the west shows no sign of narrowing. | |
| The monitors said there were no major problems on voting day, but criticised a change by electoral officials that allowed voting papers without official stamps to be counted, a move that was also denounced by the opposition. | |
| "Late changes in counting procedures removed an important safeguard and were contested by the opposition," the OSCE added. | |
| What's in the new constitution? | |
| The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has demanded a recount of 60% of the votes. Its deputy head said the result should be annulled altogether. | |
| The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also challenged the vote. | |
| But the head of Turkey's electoral body, Sadi Guven, said the unstamped ballot papers had been produced by the High Electoral Board and were valid. | |
| He said a similar procedure had been used in past elections. |