Protests erupt in Turkey’s largest cities demanding resignation of government
Protests erupted in Turkey’s Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other cities after the constitutional referendum results were published. The protestors chanted “This is just the beginning, we will continue the struggle”, Sozcu news agency reported.
The demonstrators namely protested the country’s electoral commission, which counted the unmarked ballots as valid. Outside the commission HQ, the protestors were shouting “Announce the true votes”, “Turkey is secular, and will remain so”. Police were on heightened patrol at the electoral commission’s HQ.
Elsewhere the demonstrators called on the government to resign, shouting “NO everywhere, resistance everywhere”. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared victory in the referendum on Turkey’s constitutional reform package,. With most of the ballots opened, over 51 percent of voters have supported expanding the powers of president. Turkey’s largest cities however, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, voted no. The head of Turkey’s Electoral Board has confirmed the result of the referendum, saying the “yes” vote has won.
The final results of the plebiscite on amending the constitution to significantly expand the country’s presidential powers are to be announced in 11 or 12 days, he said. Erdogan said that unofficial results of the plebiscite showed that around 25 million people said ‘yes’ to the constitutional amendments, beating the ‘no’ vote by 1.3 million.
He called the ‘yes’ vote a historic decision by the Turkish people, expressing hope that it will benefit the country. “Turkey for the first time in its history has decided with the will of the parliament and its people on such an important change. For the first time in the history of the Republic, we are changing our ruling system through civil politics. That is why it is very significant,” he said.
Turks living abroad have played a major part in the success of the referendum, which will pave the way for one of the most important reforms in the country’s history, Erdogan said.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, president of the Republican People’s Party, announced over 1.5 million votes have been counted as ‘yes’ as result of fraud, and said they will dispute the results.
