Turks were voting Sunday in a historic referendum on constitutional reforms that would greatly expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If the “yes” vote prevails, the 18 constitutional changes will replace Turkey’s parliamentary system of government with a presidential one, abolishing the office of the prime minister and granting sweeping executive powers to the president. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey’s main opposition party and top “no” campaigner, called the referendum a vote on Turkey’s future. “Yes, yes, yes! Meanwhile, Turkey’s relations with Europe have been increasingly tense, particularly after Erdogan branded Germany and the Netherlands as Nazis for not allowing Turkish ministers to campaign for the “yes” vote among expatriate Turks.

Source: Washington Post April 16, 2017 04:21 UTC