Low show for Turkish referendum vote in north

LESS than half of Turkish citizens living in the north cast their vote during the five-day ballot for the referendum on constitutional amendments in Turkey, it was announced on Monday.

According to Turkish Cypriot media reports, 43,480 people out of the 104,507 registered voters voted on whether they agreed Turkey should have an executive presidency which would boost the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The vote, which was held in the north between April 5 and 9, was concluded on Sunday night with a voting turnout of 41.6per cent.

Despite the low numbers, media in the north quoted officials as saying it was a larger proportion compared to previous polls concerning Turkey. The daily Kibris reported that the last time polls were set up in the north for Turkish nationals, around 35,000 people had voted.

According to Turkey’s election board, voting on the proposed constitutional changes has taken place at 120 polling stations in 57 countries since March 27. In total, more than 1.2 million Turkish expatriates have voted abroad so far.

Votes from the north and from other countries will be transferred to Turkey where they will be counted on April 16 after Turkish citizens in Turkey have voted.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.