Ankara Residents Celebrate Constitutional Referendum Outside AKP Headquarters

Ankara residents and supporters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) gathered outside the national party headquarters on April 16 after the Turkish constitutional referendum was approved by voters by a slim margin.Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim attended the Ankara rally, congratulating his supporters for “uniting the country as one people in the face of separatism.”The controversial referendum will grant President Recep Erdogan expanded executive powers, most notably related to national security, and has already been contested by opposition parties. Both the CHP, who plan on contesting at least 2.5 million votes, and the HDP claim a fraudulent manipulation rate ranging from three to four percent based on their own analysis of the exit poll data.