Turkish PM says people's message clear, referendum has ended all arguments

ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday that the people's message was clear after a referendum which will hand President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, and said the vote had ended all arguments.

Election authorities said preliminary results showed 51.4 percent of voters had backed the biggest overhaul of Turkish politics since the founding of the modern republic in Sunday's referendum. European monitors said the vote did not live up to international standards.

In depth: Tayyip Erdogan wins Turkey referendum


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan narrowly won a historic referendum on Sunday.

The sweeping constitutional changes approved in the vote create a presidential system that will grant Erdogan more power than any leader since modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his successor Ismet Inonu.