In such an atmosphere, there are serious concerns about the democratic legitimacy of any debate about altering the country’s political system. With little room for real debate, the “referendum” merely serves as a rubber stamp for the country’s leader. In the absence of free debate and other democratic conventions, the referendum simply became a plebiscite validating the country’s transition to one-man rule. Erdogan has described it as a “Turkish version” of the presidential system. Under Turkey’s new presidential system, the president will have ultimate authority over all three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial.

Source: Huffington Post April 17, 2017 16:10 UTC