Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed victory in a referendum that would give him sweeping new powers.
The state-run Anadolu news agency claimed that – with more than 99 per cent of the votes counted – 51 per cent per cent of voters sided with the "Yes" campaign, which would usher in the most radical change to the country's political system in its modern history.
But the main opposition the Republican People's Party (CHP) said they will demand a recount of up to 40 per cent of the vote, saying that "illegal acts" occurred during the vote and that there were up to 2.5m "problematic ballots". The pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) also claimed they had information that voter fraud was implicated in between three to four per cent of the ballots. Both parties said they would appeal the results.
The Supreme Election Commission took the unprecedented move to say it would count ballots that had not been stamped by its officials as valid unless they could be proved fraudulent, citing a high number of complaints that its officials at polling stations had failed to stamp them.
Anadolu reported that Mr Erdogan had called allied political leaders to congratulate them over the yes win, with the words: “May this result be fortunate for our nation.” Meanwhile. Mr Erdogan was said to have told Prime Minister Binali Yildirim that the results were “clear”, according to presidential sources.
As Mr Erdogan's supporters celebrated on the streets of Istanbul with fireworks, the CHP said that “illegal acts” were being carried out in favour of the government in the referendum.
However, the leader of Turkey's nationalist MHP opposition party, Devlet Bahceli – who supported the "Yes" campaign – said that the outcome of a referendum on boosting the powers of Mr Erdogan was an “undeniably successful achievement” and should be respected.
Mr Erdogan himself hailed the election result as a "historical decision", calling on foreign powers to respect the referendum result. He said all the constitutional changes would come into effect by November 2019.
Turkey's foreign minister said the win brought about the birth of a “new Turkey”. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a group of supporters in his hometown of Antalya on Sunday: “As of now, there is a truly new Turkey. There will be stability and trust in the new Turkey.”
But, with the opposition parties stating that a re-count is required, it may be some time before a definitive result is reached. In fact, the HDP has claimed that results are not final until their appeal had been heard.
“The referendum result is a clear sign that a societal agreement could not be reached. Our co-chairs being jailed, the referendum being held under a state of emergency, and other oppressive measures cast a shadow and legitimacy problem over the vote,” HDP spokesman Osman Baydemir said.
The vote would replace Turkey's parliamentary democracy with an executive presidency and could see Mr Erdogan stay in power until at least 2029 - as he gain the chance to run for re-election in 2019 and potentially serve two five-year terms. The vote would allow him to re-take control of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) that he helped to found. Mr Erdogan spent 11 years as Turkey's Prime Minister - and head of the AKP - before becoming the country's first directly-elected president in August 2014 - a supposedly ceremonial role.
The “Yes” campaign says the proposed changes would streamline Turkey’s political system, and points out that both the US and France have an executive presidency.
But opponents fear the concentration of the power in the office of the Presidency will cause the country to lurch further towards authoritarianism and one-man rule.
The outcome will also shape Turkey's strained relations with the European Union. The Nato member state has curbed the flow of refugees and migrants – mainly refugees from wars in Syria and Iraq – using a route from Turkey to enter the bloc but Mr Erdogan says he may review the deal after the vote.
Data cited by the state-run Anadolu news agency showed a high percentage of "Yes" votes in central Anatolia, a traditional stronghold for the Mr Erdogan, while "No" votes led in coastal regions near the Aegean Sea and Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.
In Turkey's three biggest cities - Istanbul, Izmir and the capital Ankara - the “No” camp appeared set to prevail narrowly, according to Turkish television stations.
After he cast his vote near his home in Istanbul, Mr Erdogan was greeted by a crowd chanting his name. His staff handed out toys for children in the crowd.
"God willing I believe our people will decide to open the path to much more rapid development," Mr Erdogan said in the polling station after casting his vote.
"I believe in my people's democratic common sense."
