Turkish Voters Say "Yes" to Amendments; US, EU Welcome

13/09/2010 Turkish voters on Sunday approved constitutional changes that are set to reshape the judiciary and curb the power of military.

With 99 percent of ballots counted, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that 58 percent of voters backed the amendments in the referendum.

Erdogan hailed the outcome as a turning point for Turkish democracy adding that the turnout was between 77 and 78 percent, he said

"We have passed a historic threshold on the way to advanced democracy and the supremacy of law... September 12 will go down in history as a turning point," Erdogan told a crowd of jubilant supporters at his party's office in Istanbul.

The CNN Turk news channel projected the final result at 57.6 percent of Turks support the 26 constitutional amendments.

Both US President Barack Obama and the European Union which Turkey seeks to join welcomed the referendum results.
Obama called Erdogan to congratulate him. He "acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey's democracy as reflected in the turnout for the referendum that took place across Turkey today", a statement released by the White House said.

Enlargement Commissioner in the EU Stefan Fuele said in a statement: "As we consistently said in the past months, these reforms are a step in the right direction as they address a number of long-standing priorities in Turkey's efforts towards fully complying with the accession criteria."

The outcome came as a huge boost for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of general elections next year. The party will be seeking a third straight term in power.
The secularist opposition had campaigned against the amendments, charging that they masked an AKP quest to take control of the judiciary and assert an authoritarian grip on power.

In a message of reconciliation, Erdogan refused to take the result as the exclusive success of his party, extending thanks also to supporters of other parties who backed the package and embracing the "no" voters.

"Those who said 'yes' and those who said 'no' are equally winners because advanced democracy is for everybody," he said. "The losers are the coup supporters and those resisting change."

The AKP, he said, would seek a compromise with the opposition for further constitutional reforms.

Agencies

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