Apr 16, 2017:
In Turkey, voters narrowly approved a referendum giving President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan significantly more power.
With over 99% of the ballots counted, 51.36% voted for the referendum and 48.64% voted against it.
The "Yes" vote means Turkey will put in place a new draft constitution and become a presidential (instead of a parliamentary) republic, more like the governments of the United States and France.
According to the new draft constitution, here's a summary of what will change:
- the current position of prime minister will be eliminated
- the president will have the power to appoint one or more vice presidents
- the president becomes the head of the executive "branch" and the head of state
- the president can be a member of a political party (currently not allowed)
- the president will have new powers to appoint ministers, prepare the budget, choose a greater percentage of senior judges, and enact certain laws by decree
- the president will be elected by the people (currently elected by parliament), and have a five-year tenure for a maximum of two terms
- presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on the same day, with the next elections to be held on November 3, 2019
- the president will have the sole power of declaring a state of emergency
- the number of MPs (members of parliament) will be increased from 550 to 600
The government, and primarily President Erdoğan, say the government reforms are necessary for the security of Turkey, to streamline decision-making, and to avoid the parliamentary coalitions and alliances that have made it difficult to enact government changes in the past.
Dissenters say the government reforms will make the government even more authoritarian by granting the president more say in the judiciary and the ability to further control the media.
Dissenters have claimed irregularities with the voting, manipulated results by the state news agency, and vow to challenge the referendum results.
Turkey is still under a state of emergency, imposed after an attempted coup in January, 2016.
Source:
(April 16, 2017). "Why did Turkey hold a referendum?". BBC. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
(April 16, 2017). "Turkey referendum: Erdogan hails 'clear' win in vote on new powers". BBC. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
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