Turkish Referendum Passes: Erdogan Solidifies Power

By Aykan Erdemir

Dr. Aykan Erdemir is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and a former member of the Turkish Parliament (2011-2015). He is a founding member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, and a recipient of the 2016 Stefanus Prize for Religious Freedom.  Erdemir holds a PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University, and is co-author of the 2016 book Antagonistic Tolerance: Competitive Sharing of Religious Sites and Spaces (Routledge).

Turks went to the polls on Sunday and voted “Yes” in Turkey’s constitutional referendum by a margin of just over 51 percent to nearly 49 percent.   Turkey’s three largest cities, Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, all voted “No.” Major opposition parties have contested the validity of the results, citing concerns that many ballots may have been counted as Yes votes without the necessary official seal. International election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council for Europe have also issued scathing critiques of the way the referendum vote was held. Nevertheless, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party have declared victory and recount efforts by the opposition appear unlikely to upset the result.

The passage of the referendum is a major win for President Erdogan, who according to some, has now become the most powerful elected leader in modern Turkish history. Aykan Erdemir, former Turkish Parliamentarian and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies explains just how deeply this victory will cement Erdogan’s political position in Turkey.

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