Erdogan claims narrow victory in Turkish referendum despite opposition protests

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan clinched an unexpectedly narrow win in the country’s constitutional referendum, which will grant him sweeping new powers in office.

Erdogan has declared victory for his Yes side, as has electoral official Sadi Guven, but opposition parties are contesting the results. The official result will come in around 10 days when all votes have been counted.

According to state news network Anadolu, 99.8% of the ballots have been counted and Erdogan holds a narrow majority of 51.4%, with 47.5 million votes being cast.

If Erdogan’s victory is confirmed, Turkey will be transformed from a parliamentary democracy to a presidential republic, with the controversial president having said that he would consider the reintroduction of the death penalty.

If Erdogan’s victory is confirmed, Turkey will be transformed from a parliamentary democracy to a presidential republic

Protests erupted across some of Turkey’s major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, which all voted to reject the constitutional changes.

"God willing, these results will be the beginning of a new era in our country," Erdogan said at a news conference on Sunday.

Erdogan had been expecting a strong mandate for the changes to Turkey’s constitution, which will allow him to hold executor powers in government as opposed to the symbolic powers he holds currently.

Turkey was plunged into political upheaval last summer when a coup attempt in July failed and 265 people were killed as a result. Erdogan launched a major crackdown on his opponents in the aftermath of the coup, with thousands of judges and high-ranking security officials dismissed and dozens of politicians and journalists arrested.