Turkey's opposition to challenge 'autocratic' Erdogan

Ankara - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in referendum to expand his powers, but opposition party contests results.

Erdogan made statements in Istanbul, on Sunday. He declared victory in Sunday's historic referendum that will grant sweeping powers to the presidency, hailing the result as a "historic decision.

Returns carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed that with nearly 99 percent of the vote counted, the "yes" vote had about 51.3 percent compared to 48.7 percent for the "no" vote.

Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Erdogan said unofficial results showed the "yes" side had won by a margin of 1.3 million votes.

Meanwhile, Turkey's main opposition party vowed to challenge the results reported by Anadolu agency, saying they were skewed.

Erdogan has long sought to broaden his powers, but a previous attempt failed after the governing party that he co-founded fell short of enough votes to pass the reforms without holding a referendum.

Opponents argued the plan concentrates too much power in the hands of a man they allege has shown increasingly autocratic tendencies.

Protests have broken out following Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s narrow victory in a referendum which will enable him to expand his powers and reduce checks and balances. Opposition parties say they will challenge the result.
The presidential form of government will be introduced in Turkey in 2019, at the same time with the next presidential election, Erdogan said to reporters.

The opposition said this would affect the legitimacy of the vote and called for a partial recount of about 37% of the votes, said Erdal Aksunger of the CHP. He left the door open to challenging a higher percentage of the ballots.

European bodies reacted with caution to the early results of the referendum.

In a joint statement issued on Monday, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini, and Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn have called on Turkish authorities to seek consensus in the implementation of the constitutional amendments that were approved during Sunday’s referendum in Turkey, reported RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.

"We are awaiting the assessment of the OSCE/ODIHR International Observation Mission, also with regard to alleged irregularities," a statement issued by EU President Jean-Claude Juncker and other ranking officials said.

"The constitutional amendments, and especially their practical implementation, will be assessed in light of Turkey's obligations as a European Union candidate country."

The Council of Europe, a human rights organization which promotes European values and of which Turkey is a member, said the tight vote meant the country would have to proceed with caution.

"In view of the close result the Turkish leadership should consider the next steps carefully," said the statement from Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland.