In a televised statement, President Erdogan thanked the voters, looking confident in his newfound transformative role. A Kurdish restauranteur in the Sultan Ahmet tourist district remarked that he cannot be happy with the “yes” vote, as politicians are prone to corruption. Two shoe-sellers who favour President Erdogan gave a thumbs up when mentioning of the referendum passing. Murat Yetkin, editor-in-chief of the leading Hürriyet Daily News, wrote that President Erdogan has been wanting this change for at least a decade. As several noted Western media outlets are calling President Erdogan a modern-day sultan, I recall visiting the famed Topkapi Palace, the seat of the Ottoman Empire, and wonder if this wondrous land that straddles eastern and western civilisations is heading forward to even greater heights or regressing towards a one-man sultanate from Erdogan’s turnkey project.

Source: Dhaka Tribune April 29, 2017 14:15 UTC