http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-s-erdogan-claims-referendum-win-critics-cry-fraud-n747161?cid=public-rss_20170417
>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a historic referendum Sunday that will greatly expand the powers of his office, telling opponents who promised to challenge the results: "It's too late now."
>Erdogan initially struck a conciliatory tone, thanking all voters regardless of how they cast their ballots and describing the referendum as a "historic decision."
>"April 16 is the victory of all who said yes or no, of the whole 80 million, of the whole of Turkey of 780,000 square kilometers," Erdogan said.
>But he quickly reverted to a more abrasive style when addressing thousands of flag-waving supporters in Istanbul.
>"There are those who are belittling the result. They shouldn't try. It will be in vain," he said. "It's too late now."
>With nearly all ballots counted, the "yes" vote stood at 51.41 percent, while the "no" vote was 48.59 percent, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The head of Turkey's electoral board confirmed the "yes" victory and said final results would be declared in 11 or 12 days.
>Turkey's main opposition party alleged that the results were skewed.
>Erdogan has long sought to broaden his powers, but a previous attempt failed after the governing party that he co-founded fell short of enough votes to pass the reforms without holding a referendum.
>Opponents argued the plan concentrate too much power in the hands of a man they allege has shown increasingly autocratic tendencies.
>The outcome is expected to have a huge effect on Turkey's long-term political future and its international relations. Although the result, if officially confirmed, would fall short of the sweeping victory Erdogan had sought, but nevertheless cements his hold on the country's governance.
and should i be concerned?
>>132864
If you live in Turkey and aren't an Islamist, probably.
>>132866
Well, I'm not lad my paradise is nice here, sweet sunny day, but tell me
what's the deal with this guy? maybe a quick rundown?
>>132869
Sure. Basically a Putin of the middle eastern countries, Turkey is the last half civilized kebab Nation and erdogan knows it. Fear of terrorism ranks #1 on the citizens minds, and the executive branch is supposedly taking away from anti terror (and pro police state) legislation. The vote basically got rid of a branch and gave the position that erdogan holds a bunch more power. People generally think of erdogan as a fantastic leader, but know that his position is more powerful it carries over to the next leader.
>>132890
>next leader
funny lad
anyway
what the fuck is this referendum all about and why haven't we kicked turkey out of NATO yet?
>>132932
>what the fuck is this referendum all about and why haven't we kicked turkey out of NATO yet?
Not him but I can answer this one.
1. The referendum was to give the Turkish president more power, effectively nullifying their parliament and high court in favor of his presidential decrees.
2. We haven't kicked Turkey out of NATO because NATO needs Turkey's proximity to Russia and the Middle East for NATO airbases. Also, if they got kicked out they would certainly almost immediately attack Greece. They're still technically at war over Cyprus from 40 or 50 years ago.
>>132936
>Also, if they got kicked out they would certainly almost immediately attack Greece. They're still technically at war over Cyprus from 40 or 50 years ago.
North and South Korea are still technically at war and they haven't fought each other in over 50 years (though obviously there have been plenty of deadly incidents). Would being kicked out of NATO be sufficient cause for them to start hostilities, especially since Greece is still a NATO member state (thus dragging the US and the rest of NATO against Turkey)?
>>133034
The island of Cyprus has had a DMZ on it since the 70s, just like Koreas DMZ, except with more beachfront and abandoned hotels.
Admittedly, Turkey would know that technically NATO countries would be obligated to defend Greece. However, a post-NATO Turkey might try to ally itself with Russia which would complicate things and make them feel emboldened. On top of that, if it's Erdogan (or someone more power-hungry than him) that is still in power in Turkey when all this happens, then all bets are off.
>>132864
Erdogan is a notorious Islamist.
>>133034
They would make a pact with Russia on the very same day. Turkey provides access to the Mediterranean via Istanbul and that is veryyyyy appealing to the Russian leadership. At the moment they use the baltic and Siberian coasts for naval action but that pretty much doubles their travel time for anywhere that isn't in the northern hemisphere. US and EU don't have that problem.