Roundup: Turks anticipating results of constitutional referendum following closure of polls

Turks are expecting the initial results on Sunday evening as polls have closed following one-day votes across the country in a referendum on constitutional changes which, among others, aim at switching to the presidential system.

More than 55 million voters are eligible to vote, but it is not clear how many exercised their rights at the polls. Anyhow, the entire country is waiting for the results expected to be announced in the evening.

"The results will emerge after the ballot boxes open at night," Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters after casting his vote in the western city of Izmir. "No matter what the result is, we will welcome it."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told reporters in Istanbul, "I believe in our people's common sense of democracy and that they will walk toward the future through this common sense."

Erdogan, his ruling Justice and Development Party and the proponents of the constitutional amendments had campaigned hard for yes votes in the plebiscite along with the opposition Nationalist Movement Party.

The largest opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP), on the other hand, have opposed the proposals on the grounds that the new system will lead Turkey into a dictatorship.

"We are voting on Turkey's destiny," CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu told reporters in front of the ballot box in Ankara, the capital city.

Meanwhile, 13 HDP lawmakers, including the party's co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were expected to cast their votes in prison, as they have been jailed for alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party which is listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

According to Burhanettin Duman, a columnist with the pro-government Daily Sabah, in the wake of the referendum, the government must introduce a reform plan to address the grievances of the Kurds.

Duman wrote that the government needs to take steps to ensure outsiders will not be able to push these groups toward extra parliamentary opposition.

Murat Yetkin, chief editor of the Hurriyet Daily News, argued that if the outcome is "yes," it will have a dramatic effect on the quality of democracy in Turkey.

"It will certainly increase Erdogan's power despite the fact that half the population declared that they do not want his single-handed rule," he wrote. "If the outcome is 'no,' it will be a blow to Erdogan's popularity despite the fact that almost half of the people are with him."

Erdogan was elected president by 52 percent of popular votes in 2014.

The voting process across the western part of Turkey was generally peaceful as no incidents have been reported thus far.

In the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, however, three people were killed after disputes over conflicting political views degenerated into an exchange of gunfire at a polling station, private Dogan News Agency reported.

In the meantime, several violations of referendum bans have been reported.

According to the Sozcu daily, some in Reyhanli district of southeastern province of Hatay reported that the seals used to stamp the ballot papers were marked with "yes" instead of "choice."

Following the report, Turkey's Supreme Election Board made an announcement declaring that the "yes" seals will be accepted as valid.

Independent observers have reported some other violations including one that noted Zeliha Akgul, a female voter, saw her name "signed" on the voters' list in Istanbul. She filed a complaint, the report said.

Observers from the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have also monitored the voting process in Turkey to assess whether it fits with the international standards to which Turkey is a party.

Moreover, independent lawyers have established a violation line, calling on people through social media to report all the violations they have observed. Endit