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Erdogan rejects regime shift after referendum

Türkiye Materials 15 April 2017 06:32 (UTC +04:00)
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday rejected claims of a regime change after Sunday's referendum on constitutional amendments
Erdogan rejects regime shift after referendum

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday rejected claims of a regime change after Sunday's referendum on constitutional amendments, AA reported.

"In my 40 years of political life, I have had no such claims to change the regime," Erdogan said in an interview aired live on state-broadcaster TRT.

He said the debates on regime change in the country ended in 1923, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established modern Turkey as a republic.

"But this government system is not responding to current needs," Erdogan said.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has claimed during its 'No' campaign that the constitutional change would lead to a regime change.

Erdogan said that almost all polls predicted a 'Yes' victory.

"Some predict the rate to be below 55 percent while others say it is likely to be between 55-60 percent," he said.

Sunday’s referendum in Turkey addresses a host of constitutional reforms that would hand wide-ranging executive powers to the president.

The post of prime minister would be abolished and the president would also be allowed to retain ties to a political party.

Other changes include the minimum age of parliamentary candidates reduced to 18 and the number of deputies increased to 600.

Also, simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019 under the new Constitution.

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