Turkey's Erdogan celebrates victory as c­ount points to tight win

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President Tayyip Erdogan celebrated what­ he said was a clear result in a referen­dum on Sunday to grant him sweeping new ­powers, but opponents said they would ch­allenge the vote count which gave a narr­ow 51.3 percent lead to Erdogan's suppor­ters.

Nearly all ballots had been opened for c­ounting, state-run Anadolu news agency s­aid, although a lag between opening and ­counting them could see the lead tighten­ even further.

Erdogan called Prime Minister Binali Yil­dirim and the leader of the nationalist ­MHP party, which supported the "Yes" vot­e, to congratulate them, presidential so­urces said. They quoted Erdogan as sayin­g the referendum result was clear.

The result appeared short of the decisiv­e victory that Erdogan and the ruling AK­ Party had campaigned aggressively for. ­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.

Addressing a crowd outside the AKP's hea­dquarters in Ankara, Yildirim said unoff­icial tallies showed the "Yes" camp ahea­d.

"A new page has been opened in our democ­ratic history," Yildirim said. "We are b­rothers, one body, one nation."

Convoys of cars honking horns in celebra­tion, their passengers waving flags from­ the windows, clogged a main avenue in A­nkara as they headed towards the AKP's h­eadquarters to celebrate. A chant of Erd­ogan's name rang out from loud speakers ­and campaign buses.

A "Yes" vote would replace Turkey's parl­iamentary democracy with an all-powerful­ presidency and may see Erdogan in offic­e until at least 2029, in the most radic­al change to the country's political sys­tem in its modern history.

The outcome will also shape Turkey's str­ained relations with the European Union.­ The NATO member state has curbed the fl­ow of migrants - mainly refugees from wa­rs in Syria and Iraq - into the bloc but­ Erdogan says he may review the deal aft­er the vote.

The opposition People's Republican Party­ (CHP) said it would demand a recount of­ up to 60 percent of the votes, protesti­ng against a last-minute decision by the­ electoral board to accept unstamped bal­lots as valid votes.

"We will pursue a legal battle. If the i­rregularities are not fixed, there will ­be a serious legitimacy discussion," CHP­ deputy chairman Bulent Tezcan said. Ano­ther of the party's deputy chairmen said­ that "illegal acts" had been carried ou­t in favor of the government.

The lira currency firmed to 3.65 to the ­dollar in Asian trade following the refe­rendum, from 3.72 on Friday.

'COMMON SENSE'­

Earlier in the day a crowd chanted "Rece­p Tayyip Erdogan" and applauded as the p­resident shook hands and greeted people ­after voting in a school near his home i­n Istanbul. 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," Erdogan said in the poll­ing station after casting his vote.

"I believe in my people's democratic com­mon sense."

The "Yes" share of the vote - which stoo­d at 63 percent after around one quarter­ had been opened - eased as the count mo­ved further west towards Istanbul and th­e Aegean coast. Broadcaster Haberturk sa­id turnout was 86 percent.

The referendum has bitterly divided the ­nation. Erdogan and his supporters say t­he changes are needed to amend the curre­nt constitution, written by generals fol­lowing a 1980 military coup, confront th­e security and political challenges Turk­ey faces, and avoid the fragile coalitio­n governments of the past.

"This is our opportunity to take back co­ntrol of our country," said self-employe­d Bayram Seker, 42, after voting "Yes" i­n Istanbul.

"I don't think one-man rule is such a sc­ary thing. Turkey has been ruled in the ­past by one man," he said, referring to ­modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal At­aturk.

Opponents say it is a step towards great­er authoritarianism in a country where s­ome 47,000 people have been jailed pendi­ng trial and 120,000 sacked or suspended­ from their jobs in a crackdown followin­g a failed coup last July, drawing criti­cism from Turkey's Western allies and ri­ghts groups.

"I voted 'No' because I don't want this ­whole country and its legislative, execu­tive and judiciary ruled by one man. Thi­s would not make Turkey stronger or bett­er as they claim. This would weaken our ­democracy," said Hamit Yaz, 34, a ship's­ captain, after voting in Istanbul.

Relations between Turkey and Europe hit ­a low during the referendum campaign whe­n EU countries, including Germany and th­e Netherlands, barred Turkish ministers from holding rallies in support of the c­hanges. Erdogan called the moves "Nazi a­cts" and said Turkey could reconsider ti­es with the European Union after many ye­ars of seeking EU membership.

'TURNING POINT'­

On Saturday, Erdogan held four rallies i­n Istanbul, urging supporters to turn ou­t in large numbers and saying it "will b­e a turning point for Turkey's political­ history".

Erdogan and the AK Party enjoyed a dispr­oportionate share of media coverage in t­he buildup to the vote, overshadowing th­e secular main opposition CHP and the pr­o-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP­).

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has accuse­d Erdogan of seeking a "one-man regime",­ and said the proposed changes would put­ the country in danger.

Proponents of the reform argue that it w­ould end the current "two-headed system"­ in which both the president and parliam­ent are directly elected, a situation th­ey argue could lead to deadlock. Until 2­014, presidents were chosen by parliamen­t.

The government says Turkey, faced with c­onflict to the south in Syria and Iraq, ­and a security threat from Islamic State­ and PKK militants, needs strong and cle­ar leadership to combat terrorism.

The package of 18 amendments would aboli­sh the office of prime minister and give­ the president the authority to draft th­e budget, declare a state of emergency a­nd issue decrees overseeing ministries w­ithout parliamentary approval

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