Turkish president celebrates new powers after close vote

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is celebrating the results of a weekend referendum that granted him sweeping new powers, the country’s opposition leaders are calling for a do-over. International monitors found irregularities in the razor-thin election, which converted Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system of governance by a 51.4 to 48.6 percent margin. Criticism focused on the election board’s decision to accept ballots without an official stamp. Normally, both ballots and the envelopes that contain them have government stamps certifying them as valid, a measure designed to prevent fraud. If the election results stand, Erdogan will have new power to appoint ministers, senior government officials, and half the members of Turkey’s highest judicial body. He’ll also have the authority to issue decrees and declare states of emergency. The new system allows presidents to serve two, five-year terms. Opposition members of the pro-Kurdish party want the European Court of Human Rights to intervene if Turkey’s electoral board refuses to reconsider accepting the unstamped ballots.