- Title: Erdogan greeted by supporters one day after referendum victory
- Date: 17th April 2017
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (APRIL 17, 2017) (REUTERS) CROWD WAITING FOR TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN SOLDIER STANDING PEOPLE APPLAUDING ERDOGAN ARRIVING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH PEOPLE PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES VARIOUS OF ERDOGAN SHAKING HANDS WITH PEOPLE / WOMAN SPEAKING TO ERDOGAN ENTRANCE TO EYUP SULTAN MOSQUE VARIOUS OF CROWD WAVING WOMAN IN CROWD SPEAKING TO ERDOGAN EXTERIOR OF MOSQUE WITH LARGE TURKISH FLAG
- Embargoed: 1st May 2017 12:05
- Keywords: Turkey referendum Erdogan opposition polls Istanbul division
- Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0016CSEAFB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Hundreds of supporters cheered on Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan when he visited a mosque in Istanbul on Monday (April 17) after a referendum approved changes in the constitution that will give him new sweeping powers.
But the narrow lead at 51.4 percent of the 'Yes' vote on Sunday's (April 16) referendum has also exposed the deep divisions in the country. The opposition says it will challenge the results.
Erdogan will travel to the capital Ankara later on Monday to chair his first cabinet meeting since the referendum.
Erdogan, a populist with a background in once-banned Islamist parties, has ruled since 2003 with no real rival, while his country emerged as one of the fastest-growing industrial powers in both Europe and the Middle East.
He has also been at the centre of global affairs, commanding NATO's second biggest military on the border of Middle East war zones, taking in millions of Syrian refugees and controlling their further flow into Europe.
Erdogan survived a coup attempt last year and responded with a crackdown, jailing 47,000 people and sacking or suspending more than 120,000 from government jobs such as schoolteachers, soldiers, police, judges or other professionals.
The changes could keep him in power until 2029 or beyond, making him easily the most important figure in Turkish history since state founder Kemal Ataturk built a modern nation from the ashes of the Ottoman empire after World War One.
In a signal of the direction he now plans for his nation, Erdogan said he would call a referendum to restore the death penalty, ending once and for all Turkey's decades-long bid to join the European Union, the impetus for years of reforms. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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