Turkey’s Erdogan to meet Trump in May, minister says

The EU has called on the civil authorities in Turkey to launch a transparent investigation into the referendum result granting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers.

Mr Tezcan said that “we demand the cancellation of this referendum”.

Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) made a controversial last-minute decision on April 16 to count ballots that had not been stamped by officials.

Opposition parties, the Turkish bar association and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitoring group have said the referendum fell short of worldwide standards.

Erdogan rejected accusations that the new powers were aimed at personal gain rather than improving Turkey’s political system.

“Efforts to cast a shadow on the result of the vote by spreading rumors of fraud are futile and in vain”, Yildirim said. Everyone, and the main opposition party in particular, must show respect. Opposition parties in the country on Tuesday filed a request to annul the result, which they said came after intimidation, unfair campaigning, and voting irregularities.

Whatever the outcome of the appeals, the referendum reflected a country sharply divided, with voters in the major cities tending to oppose the changes while those in rural areas, who usually are more religious and conservative, voting in favour of them.

“The rule of a match can not be changed while the match is being played, this is a universal rule”, he said. He said the reports were incorrect and revealed “ignorance”. Hundreds of people are queuing in front of Turkey’s election board in cap.

Erdogan reaffirmed he would now hold talks on reinstating capital punishment – a move that would automatically end Turkey’s European Union bid – and would call another referendum if the bill did not get enough votes in parliament to become law.

It means he can appoint judges, senior cabinet members and implement legislative changes without consulting parliament.

The Commission said that any legislation bringing back the death penalty to Turkey, as pledged by Erdogan during his campaign, would certainly end Ankara’s European Union membership bid.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin congratulated Erdogan for the “successful carrying-out” of the referendum. “We can see which steps are to be taken”, he said.

Getting back to business as usual, his Cabinet swiftly extended by another three months the already nine month state of emergency imposed after last July’s failed coup. He says it has not negatively affected the public.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded to the report earlier on Wednesday, saying it has “no reliability as their observations lack objectivity and are extremely partial”.

“I am a mortal really, I could die at any time”, Erdogan said during the interview.

The laudatory conversation seemed to reflect Trump’s authoritarian similarities with the Turkish president.