  AK Party wins constitutional referendum September 13, 2010 - 11:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey’s ruling AK Party led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the constitutional referendum on Sunday, September 12. The victory of the ‘yes’ camp by 58% against 42, higher than anticipated, is expected to strengthen the AKP ahead of national elections due next year. The turnover of around 78% appears high, but the authorities had envisaged a fine for those who do not vote. Also, there were around 700,000 invalid votes, a figure which appears surprisingly high. In theory, invalid votes are cast by undecided voters who went to the ballot box but refused to lend support to either the 'yes' or the 'no' fronts. Technical issues were also cited as a reason for invalid votes. Street clashes marred voting at some polling stations in provinces with large Kurdish populations. Dozens of people were detained in connection with the incidents. Apart from these, the referendum was held in a peaceful atmosphere nationwide, EurActiv reported.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity  The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization.Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia.Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty.Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |
