A supporter of the "yes" camp brandishes a picture of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan among other supporters waving Turkish national flags during a rally near the headquarters of the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) on April 16, 2017 in Istanbul.
The new presidential system takes effect at the next election, now slated for 2019. "We finally need some honesty in the relationship between the European Union and Turkey", said Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, adding the bloc should instead work on a "partnership agreement".
Following the release of the unofficial result of a referendum on constitutional changes, thousands of revelers took to the streets across Turkey to celebrate the victory by the "Yes" win.
Sunday's referendum asked voters to choose "Yes" or "No" on an 18-article bill that would see the country switch from a parliamentary to a presidential system, The draft states that the next presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on November 3, 2019 when Erdogan's current term ends.
Erdogan's political opponents say the constitutional changes would remove checks and balances on his power.
Official results were expected in 11-12 days.
Oposition parties complained of a number of irregularities in the voting, including an electoral board decision to accept as valid ballots that did not bear the official stamp. EU TALKS Germany's comments were echoed in France, where President Francois Hollande said: "It's up to the Turks and them alone to decide on how they organise their political institutions, but the published results show that Turkish society is divided about the planned deep reforms".
The European Union statement, issued by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and two other top officials, said the EU executive took note of the result and was awaiting an assessment of an global observation mission "also with regard to alleged irregularities".
The Republic People's Party, Turkey's main opposition party, have announced they will be contesting the validity of 60% of the ballots, after unconfirmed reports of large numbers of votes without official stamps.
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Turnout was also very high - reported at 85% by the country's Anadolu news agency.
The margin fell short of the sweeping victory that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sought.
According to Turkish media, more than 55 million people in the country of about 80 million were registered to vote.
"Erdogan has claimed victory, but there are question marks that are being raised", Hakura said.
But a crackdown by Erdogan since a failed coup last July has been condemned in European capitals.
Erdogan cast his vote with his wife Emine and other family members at a school near his home in Istanbul.
It will also theoretically allow Mr Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics since 2003, to stay in office until 2029.
Meanwhile, Turkey's relations with Europe have been increasingly tense, particularly after Erdogan branded Germany and the Netherlands as Nazis for not allowing Turkish ministers to campaign for the "yes" vote among expatriate Turks.
The French leader warned that if Turkey reinstates the death penalty, that would "constitute a rupture" with Turkey's pledges to respect human rights as part of efforts to join European institutions.



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