Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010

A constitutional referendum on a number of changes to the constitution

Constitution of Turkey

This article relates to a current event. See also the Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its...

was held in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

on 12 September 2010. The results showed the majority supported the constitutional amendments, with 58% in favour and 42% against. The changes were aimed at bringing the constitution into compliance with European Union standards. Supporters of Turkish EU membership hope constitutional reform will facilitate the membership process.

Background

After the military coup of 12 September 1980, a new constitution was drafted, designed by the military junta that came to power. Thirty years later, a referendum was held regarding a number of amendments to that constitution.

In 2010, the Turkish parliament adopted a series of constitutional amendments. The amendments did not achieve the required two-thirds majority (67%) to immediately implement the changes. However, they did receive a majority of 330 votes (60%), which was sufficient to present the amendments to the electorate in a referendum. A constitutional change to make it more difficult for the Supreme Court to dissolve parties failed to pass.

The reform package was accepted by parliament on 7 May, initiating the referendum process. The referendum was expected to be held 60 days after the publication of the package in the Official Gazette

TC Resmi Gazete

TC Resmi Gazete is the national and only official journal of the country publishing legislation. It is referred to as "Resmi Gazete" in short....

, but the Supreme Election Board (YSK) announced that it would be held 120 days later on 12 September.

Coup leaders and military personnel

Provisional Article 15 of the Constitution, which provided protection to coup leaders, will be abolished. The amendments will allow the leaders of the 1980 coup to be sent to court. Military officers who commit crimes against the state, such as preparing coup plans, will be tried in civilian courts. Military personnel who are dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces

Turkish Armed Forces

The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...

will have the right to appeal to the judiciary, the right to legal remedies and the right of defense.

Personal information such as names, photographs and ID information will be kept private. This kind of information will be stored only if the individual agrees to it, and individuals believing their personal information is being misused will be able to hold relevant entities accountable.

Economic and social rights

Businessmen with tax debts will be able to travel abroad. Businessmen facing an investigation or prosecution are prohibited from traveling abroad under current regulations. In the amendments, businessmen will be able to travel abroad provided there is no court order restricting their travel.

Right to collective bargaining

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...

for government employees. While government employees will be granted the right to collective bargaining, the Public Employees’ Arbitration Board consisting of government employee representatives will have the final say. The same right will be granted to the retired. Government employees who believe they have been punished unfairly will be able to go to court.

Restrictions on the right to strike will be removed. Restrictions on politically motivated strikes and lockouts will be removed to advance workers’ rights. Labor unions will not be held liable for material damage to a workplace where a strike is being held as a result of deliberately negligent behavior by the workers and by the labor union.

The Economic and Social Council (ESK), which comprises representatives from unions, associations and confederations, will be given constitutional protection. The council will be effective in determining economic policies and the government’s involvement in council activities will be removed.

Individual freedoms

Problems between the state and citizens will be resolved by way of an ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

without having to go to court. If citizens are not satisfied with judicial decisions, they will be able to directly petition the Constitutional Court.

Measures enacted to ensure equal rights for men and women will not be interpreted as contrary to the principle of equality, nor those enacted to protect children, elderly people, disabled people, widows and orphans of martyrs as well as for invalid and veterans.

Since the structure of the Constitutional Court will change, closing down parties will not be as easy as it used to be. Deputies will not be banned from politics if their party is closed down, but will keep their seats for the normal term.

Government workers, who until now could only be a member of one labor union, will now have a choice. Additionally, warnings and reprimands given to government employees will be open to judicial review. Government employees who believe they have been punished unfairly will be able to make claims in court.

Judicial reforms

Parliament will choose some of the members of the Constitutional Court. The number of Constitutional Court members will be expanded. Parliament will appoint three members while the president will appoint 14 members. The Constitutional Court will obtain a more democratic structure, consisting of two parts and functioning as a general assembly.

The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) will increase in number from 7 to 22. Members will no longer be elected only by the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Council of State. A total of 11 judges from around 13,000 judges will be appointed to the board to represent judges on the bench.

Dismissed judges will be able to appeal to the judiciary. The HSYK’s decisions, like YAŞ decisions, will be open to judicial review. Prosecutors and judges dismissed by the board will be able to challenge dismissal decisions in court.

All citizens will be able to file a petition with the Constitutional Court. This is now only possible at the European Court of Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...

.

Besides the President, the ministers and other senior government officials, the chairman of the parliament and the supreme commander of the Turkish army

Chief of the Turkish General Staff

The General Staff of the Republic of Turkey presides over the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force...

can now also appear in the Supreme Court

Supreme court

A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...

(Yüce Divan).

Changes by article

Measures ensuring equality between men and women, and protecting children, the elderly, disabled people, widows and orphans of martyrs as well as for invalid and veterans would not be considered a violation of the principle of equality. (Revises Article 10)
The protection of personal data and privacy would be revised, and everyone would be entitled to the protection of privacy. Access to data about personal information would be included within the new protection measures. (Revises Article 20)
Travel bans would be relaxed. Trips abroad would be restricted only if a person is subject to a criminal investigation or a legal case. (Revises Article 23)
Additional protections would be granted regarding family and children’s rights. All children would expressly have the right to have direct communication with their mother and father and continue relations with them. (Revises Article 41)
Public servants would be allowed to be members of more than one union. Civil servants would also have the right to collective bargaining with a body for conciliation to be established in the event of disagreement. (Revises Article 53)
The ban on general strikes would be lifted. The measure would also include strikes held for political or solidarity purposes, as well as slowdown strikes. (Revises Article 54)
An ombudsman system to deal with problems that may arise between state institutions and citizens would be established. Every citizen would be granted the right to request information and apply to the ombudsman. (Revises Article 74)
Deputies would remain in their posts until their elected term ends, even if their parties are closed. (Revises Article 84)
The tenure of deputies elected for Parliament’s presidential board would be modified. (Revises Article 94)
Decisions by the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), that result in the expulsion of military officers from the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, would be allowed to be appealed in court. The amendment, however, has excluded YAŞ decisions that force military personnel to retire due to promotion procedures and the absence of tenure. Under current law, YAŞ decisions to expel military officers from the armed forces cannot be taken to court. (Revises Article 125)
Public servants would be granted the right to collective bargaining with regard to their financial and social rights. (Revises Article 128)
Public servants would be provided the right to apply to courts over censure or warning punishments they face in their workplaces. (Revises Article 129)
Justice services and the supervision of prosecutors with regard to their administrative duties would be performed by Justice Ministry inspectors. (Revises Article 144)
Civilian courts would be permitted to try military personnel, and military courts would not be permitted to try civilians other than during times of war. (Revises Article 145)
The size and membership of the Constitutional Court would be restructured. The number of members of the country’s top court would be raised to 17 from 11, and Parliament and the president would elect and appoint members. Currently only the president can appoint members to the Constitutional Court. (Revises Article 146)
New court members would be selected for terms of 12 years or until they reach the age of 65. The current article does not set a term limit but stipulates that members retire upon reaching the age of 65. (Revises Article 147)
Citizens would be allowed the right to make personal applications to the Constitutional Court. The article would also pave the way for the court to act as the Supreme Council and acquire the authority to judge the chief of General Staff, force commanders and the Parliament speaker in the event of abuses of power. It also allows for the appeal of decisions made while the court acts as the Supreme Council. (Revises Article 148)
A quorum would be established for the Constitutional Court to convene and the minimum number of votes required to close a political party or annul constitutional amendments would be changed to two-thirds from three-fifths. (Revises Article 149)
The organization and function of the military Supreme Court of Appeals would be restructured. (Revises Article 156)
The function of the Supreme Military Administrative Court would be based on the principle of the freedom of the courts rather than the “necessity of military duty.” (Revises Article 157)
The HSYK would be restructured to consist of 22 regular and 12 substitute members. Nineteen members would be appointed, four by the president. The court would also function in three separate departments and would have the power to launch investigations against judges and prosecutors. (Revises Article 159)
The Economic and Social Council would be established as a constitutional institution. The council provides consultation to the government in creating economic and social policies. (Revises Article 166)
An article banning the prosecution of the 1980 coup leaders would be annulled. (Annuls temporary Article 15)

Source:

Voting in parliament

On 30 March 2010, Turkey's ruling party submitted its package of constitutional amendments to the parliament. The changes were passed in parliament in late April and early May 2010 with over 330 votes, below the two-thirds majority of 367 votes needed to pass them directly, but enough to send them to a referendum within sixty days after President

President of Turkey

The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...

Abdullah Gül

Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....

signs the law.
On 13 May 2010, president Gül signed the reform package.

The composition of the parliament (550 seats) during the voting was as follows: AK Party

Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

: 336, CHP

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

: 97, MHP

Nationalist Movement Party

The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...

: 69, BDP

Peace and Democracy Party

The Peace and Democracy Party ) is a political party in the Republic of Turkey. It succeeded the Democratic Society Party following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU.The BDP has observer status in the...

: 20, Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

: 12, DSP

Democratic Left Party (Turkey)

The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...

: 6, DP: 1, TP

Turkey Party

Turkey Party is a liberal conservative party in Turkey which founded on 25 May 2009 by Abdüllatif Şener. It has one seat in Turkish Grand National Assembly.-External links:*...

: 1. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has 336 seats, but deputy Mehmet Ali Şahin

Mehmet Ali Sahin

Mehmet Ali Şahin is a Turkish politician. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 2009 and 2011....

cannot vote as he is the parliament speaker. CHP and BDP decided to boycott the voting. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voted against the articles.

Each article required more than 330 votes in order to pass. The amendment for Article 69, which would have made it more difficult to shut down political parties, did not meet this threshold in the second round and was therefore dropped from the package.

The Constitution	Issue	First round				Second round				Results
The Constitution	Issue	MP turnout	Yes	No	Other	MP turnout	Yes	No	Other	Results
Article 10	Equality before the Law	407	336	70	1	408	332	75	1
Article 20	Privacy protection	405	337	68	0	408	334	72	2
Article 23	Prohibition to leave the country	408	337	71	0	407	335	71	1
Article 41	Family law and children's rights	408	336	69	3	408	338	69	1
Article 51	More than 1 union membership	405	333	70	2	409	335	70	4
Article 53	Collective bargaining	408	336	70	2	409	338	71	0
Article 54	Strike and lockout	408	335	69	4	409	337	71	1
Article 69	Political party closure	414	337	72	5	410	327	76	7
Article 74	Ombudsman	406	334	70	2	409	340	69	0
Article 84	Membership in parliament	408	335	70	3	409	335	73	1
Article 94	Parliament’s presidential board	409	338	70	1	408	336	70	2
Article 125	Recourse to judicial review	408	336	70	2	409	338	69	2
Article 128	The right to collective bargaining	408	338	70	0	409	339	70	0
Article 129	The right to apply to courts	408	336	71	1	408	339	69	0
Article 144	Judicial oversight	407	335	71	1	409	338	70	1
Article 145	Military Justice	407	337	70	0	410	336	72	2
Article 146	Organisation of Constitutional Court	407	331	72	4	410	337	69	4
Article 147	Term of office and membership	406	335	70	1	408	337	71	0
Article 148	Functions and powers	407	337	69	1	408	337	70	1
Article 149	Functioning and trial procedure	408	338	70	0	408	336	71	1
Article 156	Military Court of Cassation	408	338	70	0	407	336	71	0
Article 157	High Military Administrative Court	407	335	70	2	408	337	71	0
Article 159	Organisation of the HSYK	409	336	72	1	409	334	73	2

Annulment of the package

The main opposition party CHP

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

not only argues that the constitutional package includes unconstitutional reforms, but also that it was passed through procedural violations. It wants the Constitutional Court to review the proposal process. The CHP's legal advisers also argued that the changes the package makes to the structures of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) are in violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers. With this claim, the CHP alleges that the AK Party is attempting to change one of Turkey's constitutional articles that cannot be amended. So in addition to a review of the package on procedural grounds, the CHP also demands a review of the content of the package. The CHP also demands a stay of the referendum results, bringing the total of CHP demands to three.

On 7 July 2010, the Turkish Constitutional Court delivered its final verdict on a package of constitutional amendments, which is to be subject to a public referendum on 12 September. The court has ruled in favour of the vast majority of the government’s proposed reforms to the constitution. The court did not annul the whole package. Judges annulled certain parts of two articles, but rejected the demands of the Turkish opposition to scrap the whole package on technical grounds. The partially annulled articles pertain to the structure of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). They were controversial due to the changes envisioned in the member appointment processes.

Both the government and the opposition expressed disappointment with the Court's decision.

Polls

A poll by Sonar Research in August 2010 forecasted 49.1% in favour of the draft and 50.9% opposed.

A poll by KONDA Research in September 2010 forecasted 56.8% in favour of the draft, 25.6% were opposed, while 17.6% were undecided.

Results

Results by province

Province	Registered voters	People voted	Valid votes	Invalid votes	Yes	Yes (%)	No	No (%)	Turnout (%)
Adana Adana Province Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...	1,386,290	1,009,435	992,202	17,233	434,066	43.75	558,136	56.25	72.82
Adıyaman Adiyaman Province Adıyaman Province is a province in south-central Turkey. The province was created in 1954 out of part of Malatya Province. Area 7,614 km². Population 590,935 , up from 513,131 in 1990. The capital is Adıyaman....	358,247	292,354	287,491	4,863	231,222	80.43	56,269	19.57	81.61
Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar Province Afyonkarahisar Province , also called more simply Afyon Province, is a province in western Turkey.Adjacent provinces are Kütahya to the northwest, Uşak to the west, Denizli to the southwest, Burdur to the south, Isparta to the southeast, Konya to the east, and Eskişehir to the north. The provincial...	483,583	421,921	411,452	10,469	270,258	65.68	141,194	34.32	87.25
Ağrı Agri Province The Ağrı Province is a province in eastern Turkey, bordering Iran to the east, Kars to the North, Erzurum to the Northwest, Muş and Bitlis to the Southwest, Van to the south, and Iğdır to the northeast. Area 11,376 km². Population 542,022 ....	274,121	154,668	148,624	6,044	142,311	95.75	6,313	4.25	56.42
Aksaray Aksaray Province Aksaray Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. It covers an area of 7,626 km²...	245,874	194,680	190,600	4,080	146,102	76.65	44,498	23.35	79.18
Amasya Amasya Province Amasya Province is a province of Turkey, situated on the Yeşil River in the Black Sea Region to the north of the country. Area 5,520 km². Population 334,786....	233,005	205,982	202,159	3,823	118,637	58.68	83,522	41.32	88.4
Ankara Ankara Province Ankara Province in central Turkey is the location of the country's capital, the city of Ankara.Ankara also gave its name to the Ottoman Empire's Ankara Province which covered a larger area than the current province.- Geography :...	3,341,633	2,669,076	2,632,720	36,356	1,423,474	54.07	1,209,246	45.93	79.87
Antalya Antalya Province Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...	1,354,787	1,046,905	1,027,278	19,627	444,564	43.28	582,714	56.72	77.27
Ardahan Ardahan Province Ardahan Province is a province in the far north-east of Turkey, at the very end of the country, where Turkey borders with Georgia . The provincial capital is the city of Ardahan.- Geography :...	69,508	53,635	51,835	1,800	28,510	55.00	23,325	45.00	77.16
Artvin Artvin Province Artvin Province is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia.The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.-Geography:...	122,503	96,838	94,707	2,131	47,164	49.80	47,543	50.20	79.05
Aydın Aydin Province Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...	719,726	598,062	585,485	12,577	209,820	35.84	375,665	64.16	83.1
Balıkesir Balikesir Province Balıkesir Province is a province in midwestern Turkey, having coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southeast, and Bursa to the east. The provincial capital is Balıkesir City...	859,259	735,639	722,086	13,553	348,418	48.25	373,668	51.75	85.61
Bartın Bartin Province Bartın Province is a small province in northern Turkey on the Black Sea, surrounding the city of Bartın. It is to the east from Zonguldak Province.The town of Bartın contains a number of very old wooden houses which are no longer extant in other places....	140,105	121,146	116,891	4,255	64,713	55.36	52,178	44.64	86.47
Batman Batman Province Batman Province is a Turkish province southeast of Anatolia. The province's population exceeded 500,000 in 2010.The province is important because of its reserves and production of oil which was started in the 1940s. There is a 494-km long oil pipeline from Batman to the Turkish port of İskenderun....	260,951	105,987	99,500	6,487	94,218	94.69	5,282	5.31	40.62
Bayburt Bayburt Province Bayburt Province is a province in the north-east of Turkey. Population of the province is 74,412 and total area is 3,652 km². The capital city is Bayburt.- Districts :Bayburt province is divided into 3 districts :* Aydıntepe...	48,973	41,432	40,777	655	34,687	85.07	6,090	14.93	84.6
Bilecik	141,196	124,512	121,762	2,750	60,256	49.49	61,506	50.51	88.18
Bingöl Bingöl Province Bingöl Province is a province of Turkey in Eastern Anatolia. The province was created in 1946 out of parts of Elazığ and Erzincan. The new province was known as Çapakçur Province until 1950. Its neighbouring provinces are Tunceli, Erzurum, Muş, Diyarbakır, Erzincan and Elazığ. The province covers...	154,117	118,652	115,651	3,001	110,167	95.26	5,484	4.74	76.99
Bitlis Bitlis Province Bitlis Province is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van.-History:Bitlis was formed as an administrative district in the 17th Century...	174,195	121,962	116,543	5,419	108,471	93.07	8,072	6.93	70.01
Bolu Bolu Province Bolu Province is a province in north western in the Black Sea region of Turkey, midpoint between the large cities of Istanbul and Ankara. It covers an area of 7,410 km², and the population is 271,208....	198,972	172,551	169,077	3,474	110,644	65.44	58,433	34.56	86.72
Burdur Burdur Province Burdur Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southwest and bordering Muğla and Antalya to the South, Denizli to the West, Afyon to the North, and Isparta to the East...	184,987	165,187	160,711	4,476	84,511	52.59	76,200	47.41	89.3
Bursa Bursa Province Bursa Province is a province in western Turkey, along the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. The province has an area of 11,043 km2 and a population of 3,187,000...	1,843,820	1,517,902	1,490,239	27,663	839,892	56.36	650,347	43.64	82.32
Çanakkale Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the town of Çanakkale.Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European and an Asian part. The European part is formed by the Gallipoli peninsula, while the Asian part is largely...	360,770	314,284	308,723	5,561	123,800	40.10	184,923	59.90	87.11
Çankırı Çankiri Province Çankırı Province is a province of Turkey, which lies close to the capital, Ankara. The provincial capital is Çankırı.-Economy:Çankırı is primarily agricultural with wheat, beans, corn and tomatoes the most common crops.-Climate:...	130,511	109,633	107,527	2,106	82,272	76.51	25,255	23.49	84.0
Çorum Çorum Province Çorum Province is a province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, but lying inland and having more characteristics of Central Anatolia than the Black Sea coast....	384,676	338,874	333,237	5,637	226,051	67.83	107,186	32.17	88.09
Denizli Denizli Province Denizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and...	665,282	575,622	562,978	12,644	260,643	46.30	302,335	53.70	86.52
Diyarbakır Diyarbakir Province Diyarbakır Province is a province in eastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km² and the population is 1,528,958. The provincial capital is Diyarbakir...	851,241	296,245	278,871	17,374	261,916	93.92	16,955	6.08	34.8
Düzce Düzce Province Düzce Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. It is on the coastline of the Black Sea and is traversed by the main highway between Istanbul and Ankara. The main town is Düzce...	237,477	201,385	197,817	3,568	143,443	72.51	54,374	27.49	84.8
Edirne Edirne Province Edirne Province is the westernmost province of Turkey, located in Eastern Thrace along the Greek and Bulgarian border. The city's wealth, population and importance increased after it was declared as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire...	296,576	254,358	249,744	4,614	66,233	26.52	183,511	73.48	85.76
Elazığ Elazig Province Elâzığ Province is a province of Turkey with its seat in the city of Elâzığ. The source of the Euphrates river is located in this province.The province has a population of 552,646 as of 2010...	374,530	302,605	296,663	5,942	242,611	81.78	54,052	18.22	80.8
Erzincan Erzincan Province Erzincan Province is a province in the eastern region of Anatolia, Turkey, and home to Erzincan, a city which was destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on December 27, 1939...	143,843	123,158	121,643	1,515	77,880	64.02	43,763	35.98	85.62
Erzurum Erzurum Province Erzurum Province is a Province of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The provincial capital is...	474,085	379,988	373,026	6,962	324,011	86.86	49,015	13.14	80.15
Eskişehir Eskisehir Province Eskişehir Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincial capital is Eskişehir. Most of the province is laid down in...	570,044	472,251	463,957	8,294	213,331	45.98	250,626	54.02	82.84
Gaziantep Gaziantep Province Gaziantep Province is a province in south-central Turkey. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep which had a population of 853,513 as of 2000. Its neighbours are Adıyaman at north, Şanlıurfa at east, Syria and Kilis at south, Hatay at southwest, Osmaniye at west and Kahramanmaraş at northwest.An...	984,683	716,358	701,112	15,246	489,706	69.85	211,406	30.15	72.75
Giresun Giresun Province Giresun Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Trabzon to the east, Gümüşhane to the south-west, Erzincan to the south, Sivas to the south-east, and Ordu to the west. The provincial capital is Giresun....	306,396	244,438	240,153	4,285	152,479	63.49	87,674	36.51	79.78
Gümüşhane Gümüshane Province Gümüşhane Province is a province in northern Turkey, bordering Bayburt to the east, Trabzon to the north, Giresun and Erzincan to the west. It covers an area of 6,575 km² and has a population of 129,618 in 2010. The population was 186,953 in 2000. The name Gümüşhane means silver house...	88,536	67,596	66,396	1,200	52,110	78.48	14,286	21.52	76.35
Hakkâri Hakkari Province Hakkâri Province is a province in the south east corner of Turkey. The administrative centre is located in the city of Hakkâri . The province covers an area of 7,121 km² and has a population of 251,302 . The province had a population of 236,581 in 2000.The province was created in 1936 out of...	128,572	11,634	10,512	1,122	9,910	94.27	602	5.73	9.05
Hatay Hatay Province Hatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...	922,012	767,414	756,763	10,651	362,011	47.84	394,752	52.16	83.23
Iğdır Igdir Province Iğdır Province is a province in eastern Turkey, located along the border with Armenia, Azerbaijan , and Iran. Its adjacent provinces are Kars to the northwest and Ağrı to the west and south...	105,349	53,822	51,941	1,881	28,023	53.95	23,918	46.05	51.09
Isparta Isparta Province Isparta Province is a province in southwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Afyon to the northwest, Burdur to the southwest, Antalya to the south, and Konya to the east. It has an area of 8,993 km² and a population of 448,298 up from 434,771...	298,726	251,725	245,664	6,061	141,226	57.49	104,438	42.51	84.27
Istanbul Istanbul Province Istanbul Province is a province located in north-west Turkey. It has an area of 5,196 km² and a population of 13,255,685. The population was 10,018,735 in 2000. It is surrounded by the provinces of Tekirdağ to the west, Kocaeli to the east, the Black Sea to the northern part and the Sea of...	9,206,124	6,743,672	6,641,160	102,512	3,643,666	54.86	2,997,494	45.14	73.25
İzmir Izmir Province İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...	2,870,888	2,283,928	2,246,593	37,335	815,943	36.32	1,430,650	63.68	79.55
Kahramanmaraş Kahramanmaras Province Kahramanmaraş is a province of Turkey. Its provincial capital is Kahramanmaraş city, the traffic code is 46.-Districts:Kahramanmaraş province is divided into 10 districts :AfşinAndırınÇağlayanceritEkinözüElbistanGöksun*Kahramanmaraş...	653,042	547,100	539,219	7,881	428,103	79.39	111,116	20.61	83.78
Karabük Karabük Province Karabük Province is a province in northern central Turkey with a total population of 227,610 .The main city is Karabük which is located about 200 km north of Ankara and about 100 km south of the Black Sea coast...	163,081	136,555	133,024	3,531	84,821	63.76	48,203	36.24	83.73
Karaman Karaman Province Karaman Province is a province of central Turkey. It has an area of 9,163 km². It has a population of 232,633 . According to the 2000 census the population was 243,210. Population density is 27.54 people/km². The traffic code is 70. The capital is the city of Karaman...	158,392	136,818	133,482	3,336	88,019	65.94	45,463	34.06	86.38
Kars Kars Province Kars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...	183,800	125,998	122,490	3,508	80,243	65.51	42,247	34.49	68.55
Kastamonu Kastamonu Province Kastamonu Province is one of the provinces of Turkey, in the Black Sea region, to the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop to the east, Bartın and Karabük to the west, Çankırı to the south, Çorum to the south east and the Black Sea to the north....	269,272	228,815	223,044	5,771	140,006	62.77	83,038	37.23	84.98
Kayseri Kayseri Province The Kayseri Province , in central Turkey, is an area that has been linked with mythological stories as well as important figures in Turkish history. It is located in Anatolia, and surrounded by the Mount Erciyes, the Mount Hasan and the Mount Ali...	812,554	692,502	680,984	11,518	498,812	73.25	182,172	26.75	85.23
Kilis Kilis Province Kilis Province is a province in south-central Turkey. It used to be the southern part of the province of Gaziantep and was formed in 1994. The town of Kilis is home to around 67% of the inhabitants of the province, the other towns and villages are very small.-History:There is evidence of human...	75,649	63,243	61,936	1,307	41,411	66.86	20,525	33.14	83.6
Kırıkkale Kirikkale Province Kırıkkale Province is a province of Turkey. It is located on the crossroads of major highways east of Ankara leading east to the Black Sea region. With its rapid population growth it has become an industrial center. The provincial capital is Kırıkkale....	195,333	159,578	156,827	2,751	108,586	69.24	48,241	30.76	81.7
Kırklareli Kirklareli Province Kırklareli Province is a province in northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a 180 kilometers long border. It borders the province of Edirne to the west and the province of Tekirdağ to the south and province of Istanbul to the...	251,751	220,111	216,797	3,314	55,542	25.62	161,255	74.38	87.43
Kırşehir Kirsehir Province Kırşehir Province is located in central Turkey, forming part of the central Anatolian region. It stands on the North Anatolian Fault, and is currently in an earthquake warning zone. The average elevation is approximately 985 meters above sea level. The provincial capital is Kırşehir.It became a...	156,339	125,002	122,527	2,475	71,258	58.16	51,269	41.84	79.96
Kocaeli Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province is a province of Turkey. Its capital is İzmit, which is sometimes referred to as Kocaeli itself. The largest town in the province is now Gebze. The traffic code is 41. The province is located at the easternmost end of the Marmara Sea, especially on the Gulf of İzmit. Because of...	1,071,556	864,871	848,323	16,548	516,533	60.89	331,790	39.11	80.71
Konya Konya Province Konya Province is a province of Turkey located in central Anatolia. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. It is the largest province by area of Turkey.-Districts:...	1,327,534	1,117,186	1,096,922	20,264	857,167	78.14	239,755	21.86	84.15
Kütahya Kütahya Province Kütahya Province is a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is 11,889 km² in size, and the population is 590,496 . In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,020.-Districts:...	418,071	372,393	364,178	8,215	272,217	74.75	91,961	25.25	89.07
Malatya Malatya Province Malatya Province is a province of Turkey. It is part of a larger mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya , which has many residents. Malatya is famous for its apricots. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km². Malatya Province has 740,643 inhabitants. The population was...	497,796	413,038	408,425	4,613	307,133	75.20	101,292	24.80	82.97
Manisa Manisa Province Manisa Province is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the south east, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the north east, and Balıkesir to the north...	960,069	829,573	810,917	18,656	402,626	49.65	408,291	50.35	86.41
Mardin Mardin Province Mardin Province is a province of Turkey with a population of 744,606. The population was 835,173 in 2000. The capital of the Mardin Province is Mardin...	385,674	165,856	157,664	8,192	147,344	93.45	10,320	6.55	43.0
Mersin Mersin Province The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...	1,123,115	818,141	804,397	13,744	299,004	37.17	505,393	62.83	72.85
Muğla Mugla Province Muğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....	593,187	492,611	483,363	9,248	149,763	30.98	333,600	69.02	83.04
Muş Mus Province Muş Province is a province in eastern Turkey. It is 8,196 km² in area, and has a population of 406,886 . The population was 453,654 in 2000. The provincial capital is the city of Muş...	208,405	112,730	107,806	4,924	99,403	92.21	8,403	7.79	54.09
Nevşehir Nevsehir Province Nevşehir Province is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. It adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, Niğde to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, and Yozgat to the northeast. Nevşehir includes the area called Cappadocia - a very popular...	196,436	167,489	164,404	3,085	111,049	67.55	53,355	32.45	85.26
Niğde Nigde Province Niğde Province is a small rural province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Population is 337.931 of which 100.418 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305.861 in 1990. It covers an area of 7,312 km²...	219,841	180,549	176,310	4,239	107,474	60.96	68,836	39.04	82.13
Ordu Ordu Province Ordu Province is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its traffic code is 52...	508,677	400,122	391,422	8,700	248,557	63.50	142,865	36.50	78.66
Osmaniye Osmaniye Province Osmaniye Province is a Turkish province located in southern Turkey. It became a province in 1996. The province was part of Adana Province. It covers an area of 3,767 km² and has a population of 479,221 . The province is situated in Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region.The...	308,075	255,251	250,480	4,771	133,827	53.43	116,653	46.57	82.85
Rize Rize Province Rize Province is a province of north-east Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. Its capital is the city of Rize.-Geography:...	229,426	180,309	177,369	2,940	134,961	76.09	42,408	23.91	78.59
Sakarya Sakarya Province Sakarya Province is a province in Turkey, located on the coast of Black Sea. The river Sakarya creates a webbing of estuaries in the province....	612,621	505,267	496,127	9,140	333,871	67.30	162,256	32.70	82.48
Samsun Samsun Province Samsun Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast with a population of 1,252,693 . Its adjacent provinces are Sinop on the northwest, Çorum on the west, Amasya on the south, Tokat on the southeast, and Ordu on the east...	874,952	722,865	709,959	12,906	476,774	67.16	233,185	32.84	82.62
Şanlıurfa Sanliurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province or simply Urfa Province is a province in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,663,371 ....	827,755	566,395	556,434	9,961	523,882	94.15	32,552	5.85	68.43
Siirt Siirt Province Siirt Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. It has an area of 5,406 km² and a total population of 300,695...	150,645	76,648	72,342	4,306	68,845	95.17	3,497	4.83	50.88
Sinop Sinop Province Sinop Province is a province of Turkey, along the Black Sea. It is located between 41 and 42 degrees North latitude and between 34 and 35 degrees East longitude. The surface area is 5,862 km², equivalent to 0.8% of Turkey's surface area. The borders total 475 km and consists of 300 km of land and...	149,452	124,319	121,213	3,106	73,262	60.44	47,951	39.56	83.18
Şırnak Şırnak Province The Şırnak Province is a Turkish province in southeastern Anatolia. It has a population of 430,109 . The population was 353,197 in 2000....	197,046	44,326	37,749	6,577	33,626	89.08	4,123	10.92	22.5
Sivas Sivas Province The Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...	429,921	355,596	350,504	5,092	268,472	76.60	82,032	23.40	82.71
Tekirdağ Tekirdag Province The Tekirdağ Province is in Trakya , the northwestern part of Turkey. The capital city is Tekirdağ. It is famous for its meatball called "Tekirdağ köfte" and the Turkish alcoholic drink called Tekirdağ rakısı.-Districts:...	567,415	465,412	458,124	7,288	158,825	34.67	299,299	65.33	82.02
Tokat Tokat Province Tokat Province is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast...	423,544	359,680	353,708	5,972	228,442	64.58	125,266	35.42	84.92
Trabzon Trabzon Province Trabzon Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Located in a strategically important region, Trabzon is one of the oldest trade port cities in Anatolia. Neighbouring provinces are Giresun to the west, Gümüşhane to the southwest, Bayburt to the southeast and Rize to the east. The...	543,650	428,766	421,131	7,635	288,911	68.60	132,220	31.40	78.87
Tunceli Tunceli Province The Tunceli Province is a province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The province was named Dersim Province and was changed to Tunceli Province on January 4, 1936. with the "Law on Administration of the Tunceli Province" , no...	56,409	37,918	37,260	658	7,072	18.98	30,188	81.02	67.22
Uşak Usak Province Uşak is a province in western Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Manisa to the west, Denizli to the south, Afyon to the east, and Kütahya to the north. The provincial capital is Uşak, and its traffic code is 64. The province covers an area of 5,341 km² and has a population of 335,860...	245,586	216,999	211,620	5,379	105,355	49.78	106,265	50.22	88.36
Van Van Province Van Province is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at the end of 2010....	530,745	231,449	220,748	10,701	208,501	94.45	12,247	5.55	43.61
Yalova Yalova Province Yalova Province is a province in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Bursa to the south and Kocaeli to the east. The provincial capital is the city of Yalova. The population of the Yalova Province is 203,741...	148,306	115,990	113,885	2,105	58,304	51.20	55,581	48.80	78.21
Yozgat Yozgat Province Yozgat Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, Sivas to the east, Tokat to the northeast, and Amasya to the north...	319,155	257,444	253,675	3,769	196,153	77.32	57,522	22.68	80.66
Zonguldak Zonguldak Province Zonguldak Province is a province along the western Black Sea coast region of Turkey. The province is 3.481 km² in size and has a population of 619,703 Its adjacent provinces are Düzce to the southwest, Bolu to the south, Karabük to the southeast, and Bartın to the east...	455,043	380,435	369,517	10,918	184,931	50.05	184,586	49.95	83.6
Customs	2,556,335	196,299	194,737	1,562	119,817	61.53	74,920	38.47	7.68
Turkey	52,051,828	38,369,165	37,643,313	725,852	21,788,272	57.88	15,855,041	42.12	73.71

Source:

Voting Irregularities

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Kemal Kiliçdaroglu

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been the Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002....

, the leader of the opposition represented by the Republican People's Party (CHP)

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

, couldn't vote because of a mix-up over where he should cast his ballot.

Domestic

Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

(AK Party) – Following the announcement of the results, Prime Minister Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...

said the state had "crossed a historic threshold toward advanced democracy and the supremacy of law."
Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

(CHP) – Pointing to the 42% of voters who said "No" at the referendum, Kılıçdaroğlu
Kemal Kiliçdaroglu
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been the Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002....

said such a figure could not be underestimated and his party had a major role in reaching such a rate. "When we look at the result, we see that the Justice and Development Party has taken a very important step towards creating a judiciary mechanism that is entirely dependent on itself," Kılıçdaroğlu said. He also added Erdoğan administration was seeking dangerous levels of control over the country's judiciary, with two of the 26 approved amendments allegedly giving excessive influence to the government over the courts.
Nationalist Movement Party
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...

(MHP) – Having been the first to publish a written statement, party leader Devlet Bahçeli
Devlet Bahçeli
Devlet Bahçeli is a Turkish politician and has been the second chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party since 6 July 1997....

claimed that with the constitutional amendments which will serve the backdoor intentions of the AK Party to create a sectarian judiciary being approved by the Turkish nation, Turkey was dragged into the Dark Ages littered with dangers and vital threats, adding that bad days are ahead.

International

The result of the referendum was welcomed by a number of international observers.
– The Enlargement Commissioner in the European Union, Štefan Füle

Štefan Füle

Štefan Füle is a Czech politician and diplomat, since 2009 European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy in the second Barroso Commission.- Early life :...

, said: "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 European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

ary deputy Richard Howitt

Richard Howitt

Richard Howitt is a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for the East of England. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 1994.-Background:...

, spoke for the European Parliament’s Socialist and Democrat Group when he declared his support for the referendum results. "The unexpectedly large 'yes' vote in Turkey’s constitutional referendum is a sign of the population’s support for reforms that will prepare the country for European Union membership." He also said it would be a blow to European critics who suggested Turkey does not have the political will to make the necessary reforms to join the EU. He also supported calls to draw up a new constitution through cross-party consensus.

- Council of Europe
  Council of Europe
  The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
  
  – The Council of Europe's Secretary-General
  Secretary General of the Council of Europe
  The Secretary General of the Council of Europe is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years...
  
  Thorbjorn Jagland called the move a significant step in the democratic development of Turkey. "The constitutional reform approved on Sunday is an important step forward towards bringing the country closer to European standards and practices."

– Foreign Minister

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)

The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs is the head of the Federal Foreign Office and a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The current office holder is Guido Westerwelle...

Guido Westerwelle

Guido Westerwelle [] is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has been serving as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions...

issued a statement saying "I welcome the success of the referendum," "The reform of the constitution is another important step by Turkey on the road towards Europe."
– Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Greece

The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...

George Papandreou

Georgios A. Papandreou , commonly anglicised to George and shortened to Γιώργος in Greek, is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece following his party's victory in the 2009 legislative election...

called his Turkish counterpart to congratulate him for the government's success in Sunday's referendum on the constitutional amendment package. Greek Foreign Minister declared that the results of the referendum are a 'clear choice' and 'strong signal of support for the reforms promoted by Tayyip Erdoğan. "The Turkish people reaffirmed its commitment to the European perspective."
– In a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

Ahmet Davutoglu

Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of Republic of Turkey.-Life and career:...

, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

Manouchehr Mottaki

Manouchehr Mottaki is an Iranian politician and diplomat. He was the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Whilst technically appointed by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is considered to be closer to more pragmatic conservative factions and during the 2005 presidential election, he was the campaign...

congratulated the Turkish nation's vote of confidence to the Ankara government in the recent referendum on constitutional amendments. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, both sides expressed hope for the further expansion of all-out ties and described First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi's upcoming trip to Turkey as another step towards bolstering Tehran-Ankara relations.
– Prime Minister

Prime minister of Italy

The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...

Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...

has called the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him for the "brilliant success" of the approval of the constitutional referendum and that there will be soon a bilateral summit between the two countries.
– Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Kosovo

The Prime Minister of Kosovo is Head of Government of the disputed Republic of Kosovo .The Prime Minister and the Government of Kosovo, which he or she heads, are responsible for their actions to the Assembly of Kosovo, of which they must all be members...

Hashim Thaçi

Hashim Thaci

Hashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Republic of Kosovo, the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...

has made a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to congratulate him and in which Erdoğan expressed Turkey's continued willingness to support the Republic of Kosovo.
– Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri telephoned his Turkish counterpart and congratulated him for the results of the referendum. Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri

Nabih Berri

Nabih Berri is the Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon. He heads the mostly Shi'a Amal Movement.-Biography:He was born in Bo, Sierra Leone to Lebanese parents. He went to school in Tebnine and Ain Ebel in southern Lebanon and later studied at the Makassed and the Ecole de la Sagesse in Beirut...

sent a telegram stating that this is a "historical and democratic victory" for Turkey and hoping that this referendum would be a lesson for democracy in the Middle East.
– Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Pakistan

The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...

Yousuf Raza Gilani called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on telephone and congratulated him on victory in the referendum held on Sept 12. He said,” the results of referendum show the confidence of Turkish people in the dynamic leadership and pro-people policies of Mr. Erdoğan”. He further said that the results were clear manifestation of the proof that democracy and democratic norms have strengthened to bring about changes for betterment of the people. The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude for assistance of the Turkish government and the people through Turkish Red Crescent

Turkish Red Crescent

Turkish Red Crescent is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement....

for the victims of the 2010 Pakistan floods

2010 Pakistan floods

The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...

.
– President

President of the Palestinian National Authority

The President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority ....

Mahmoud Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...

called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him for the success on the constitutional referendum.
– Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos

Miguel Ángel Moratinos

Miguel Ángel Moratinos Cuyaubé is a Spanish diplomat and politician, a member of the Socialist Workers' Party and member of Congress where he represents Córdoba....

said the referendum sent a "clear signal of Turkey's European vocation and it demonstrates the commitment of the Turkish authorities to modernize the political and social institutions." "And although some countries still have doubts and reluctance, I believe that in the end logic will prevail," Moratinos told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.
– President Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...

telephoned the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him for the results of the referendum.
– Foreign Minister

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs is the foreign minister of Sweden and the head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.The office was instituted in 1809 as a result of the constitutional Instrument of Government promulgated in the same year. Until 1876 the office was called Prime Minister for Foreign...

Carl Bildt

, Honorary KCMG is a Swedish politician, diplomat and nobleman. Formerly Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, Bildt has served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs since 6 October 2006...

said: "This opens the European door, even though it will take time to take that step." With the referendum, Turkey "paves the way for a more open and democratic evolution of the country."
– President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

also welcomed the results and called the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...

to congratulate him and "acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey's democracy as reflected in the turnout for the referendum."

Aftermath

The Human Rights Association launched a petition to try Kenan Evren

Kenan Evren

Ahmet Kenan Evren was the seventh President of Turkey; a post he assumed by leading the 1980 military coup. He was also the last president to be born in the Ottoman Empire.- Biography :...

, the now retired general, over his role in the 1980 coup, as Evren defended the coup, saying military intervention was needed to bring an end to years of violence between leftist and rightist factions.

Hüseyin Çelik

Hüseyin Çelik

Hüseyin Çelik is a former Minister of National Education of Turkey and member of parliament for Van for the ruling Justice and Development Party....

, the deputy chairman of the AK Party, said the party's agenda would now be to work on a new constitution after the 2011 elections

Turkish general election, 2011

Turkey's 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. They were Turkey's first non-early elections in 34 years.-Background:...

External links

Text of the Constitutional changes Official translation of the proposed changes by the Government

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