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Turkey

Turkey: Referendum Result Marks Break with Past

Jonathan Lewis Sep 13, 2010
Behind a bust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, voters gather at a polling station in Istanbul. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Behind a bust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, voters gather at a polling station in Istanbul. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
Voters drops completed ballots into boxes secured with wax seals. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Voters drops completed ballots into boxes secured with wax seals. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
Many voted at special facilities made for those with difficulties entering some polling stations. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Many voted at special facilities made for those with difficulties entering some polling stations. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
Security was high during voting for the referendum. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Security was high during voting for the referendum. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
Workers at a polling station in Istanbul's Cihangir neighborhood check-in voters. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Workers at a polling station in Istanbul's Cihangir neighborhood check-in voters. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A voter searches a list of names to make sure she can cast her ballot at the correct polling station. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A voter searches a list of names to make sure she can cast her ballot at the correct polling station. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
Voters are given one ballot to choose either "evet" (yes) or "hayir" (no). (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) Voters are given one ballot to choose either "evet" (yes) or "hayir" (no). (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A worker checks a voter's name against a list at a polling station in Cihangir. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A worker checks a voter's name against a list at a polling station in Cihangir. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, sits next to a voting booth. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, sits next to a voting booth. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A voter drops a completed ballot into a sealed box. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A voter drops a completed ballot into a sealed box. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A poll worker hands a voter an ink-stained stamp to mark his "yes/no" ballot. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A poll worker hands a voter an ink-stained stamp to mark his "yes/no" ballot. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
A voter completes his ballot for the package of 26 amendments, which was approved by 58 percent. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis) A voter completes his ballot for the package of 26 amendments, which was approved by 58 percent. (Photo: Jonathan Lewis)
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Voters in Turkey gave strong backing to constitutional changes in a September 12 referendum. The result put the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a strong position heading into parliamentary elections next year, while perhaps signaling the end of an era in Turkey, one in which the military acted as the enforcer of secularism.

The vote, which occurred on the 30th anniversary of the country's last military coup, approved a series of constitutional changes by a 58 percent-42 percent margin. [For background see EurasiaNet's archive].

Turnout was reported at 77 percent, but in one area, a district in far eastern Turkey inhabited mainly by Kurds, only 4 percent of eligible voters cast ballots.

The key constitutional changes give the government greater control over shaping the composition of the judiciary. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had campaigned for the constitutional amendments by casting them as a repudiation of the legacy of the military's involvement in Turkish politics. Critics say the amendments will enable the moderate Islamist AKP to make a radical departure from the modern Turkish state's secular tradition.

Jonathan Lewis is a freelance photojournalist based in Istanbul.

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