ANKARA (Sputnik) — On Sunday, the Turks expressed their support for government-backed constitutional changes to shift to a presidential system and thus broaden presidential powers, with preliminary results showing over 51 percent of support.
"We fought against all enemies, we were attacked by those who have the worldview of the crusaders. But as a nation we remained strong. We can only bow to our shrines and not to anyone else," Erdogan said at Ankara’s airport.
The constitutional reforms have already cleared the Turkish parliament and been signed by Erdogan.
According to the Turkish leader, once Turkey becomes a presidential republic in November 2019, in conformity with the constitutional amendments, the country will become even stronger.