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Common Dreams reports Erdoğan Claims Ultimate Power in Turkey After Nearly Split Vote [commondreams.org]

As one opponent of the referendum noted: "Threats, oppression, imprisonment, censorship, defamation--and yet half of the people of Turkey voted" against.

In a very close--and closely watched--referendum vote, Turks on [April 16] handed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan what many say is authoritarian rule.

With more than 99 percent of ballots counted, Erdoğan claimed [bbc.com] a win with 51.36 percent voting in favor of the referendum and 48.64 voting against.

However, the Guardian reported [theguardian.com],[1]

disparities persisted into Sunday evening, with the opposition saying not all ballots had been counted and they would contest a third of the votes that had been cast. [Sadi Guven, the head of Turkey's high electoral board, or YSK] said the YSK had decided to consider unstamped ballots as valid unless they were proved to be fraudulent after a high number of complaints--including one from the ruling AK Party--that its officials had failed to stamp some ballot papers.

The No campaign said the YSK's last-minute decision raised questions about the validity of the vote.

[1] Guardian's HTML is black text on a black background; View, Use Style, No Style.

TheFederalistPapers.org reports Turkey Votes To Turn Itself Into An Islamic Dictatorship [thefederalistpapers.org]

Turkey's new dictator, President Recip Tayyip Erdoğan claimed victory in Sunday's vote on whether he should essentially take almost complete control over the country.

The opposition has said they would contest the election, citing rampant voter fraud, but the election is no less stunning.

Turkey is a member of NATO and a crucial ally (sometimes) in the fight against terrorism.

[...]If the results are upheld, it gives Turkey's government--with Erdoğan at the helm--widespread authority to scrap the centuries-old parliamentary system, replacing it with a presidential model. It would concentrate massive power in the hands of the president who has recently jailed opponents and cracked down on dissent.

Erdoğan will be able to appoint senior judges, declare a state of emergency, dissolve parliament, and in some cases issue new laws be [decreed].

It will also theoretically allow Erdoğan, who has dominated Turkish politics as president and prime minister since 2003, to stay in office until 2029.

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