Turkey’s ruling AK Party sweep on September 13 celebrated victory in a referendum on constitutional reform that was seen boosting its chances of winning a third term of single-party rule at an election due in July 2011. Television news channels reported the government scored a “yes” vote of 58 per cent versus 42 per cent for the “no” camp. The turnout, among an electorate of just under 50 million, was put at 77 per cent. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan promised he would start work on a brand new constitution. “‘Yes’, but it is not enough,” said a writer in the Radikal daily, saying the result showed enthusiasm for change and the desire for a totally new constitution. Turks voted on the 30th anniversary of the 1980 military coup, and Erdogan had whipped up public support to change a charter written during army rule by reviving memories of the brutal repression that followed the generals’ takeover. “The comfortable margin of the “yes” vote is market positive as it indicates that the AKP has good prospects of winning a third term at the general elections due by July 2011,” Wolfango Piccoli, a London-based analyst at Eurasia Group consultancy, said in a note.
ERDOGAN ALL SET TO WIN THIRD TERM
Turkey’s ruling AK Party sweep on September 13 celebrated victory in a referendum on constitutional reform that was seen boosting its chances of winning a third term of single-party rule at an election due in July 2011.
