Turkish expats start voting in charter referendum
ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
In Turkish missions in other countries, voting will start at various later dates but will also end on April 9.
Around 3 million Turkish citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote in the referendum will vote in 120 Turkish missions in 57 countries.
Voting has also started on March 27 in Istanbul’s Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen international airports as part of the referendum on the amendments including the shift to an executive presidency from the current parliamentary system.
A total of 12 ballot boxes have been placed at Atatürk Airport.
The voting started on March 27 at 8.00 a.m. (05:00 GMT) and will last until April 16.
In Turkey, 55.3 million people who are eligible to vote will cast their votes on April 16.
The constitutional changes have been in discussions since Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected as president in August 2014. The 18-article bill was passed by parliament in January.
The changes would hand wide-ranging executive powers to the president and the post of the prime minister would be abolished. The president would also be allowed to retain ties to a political party.
Other changes would see the minimum age for parliamentary candidates reduced to 18 and the number of deputies in parliament increased to 600.