Istanbul – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed victory in the constitutional referendum with a margin of 1.3 million votes and said Turkey has resolved 200-year-old conflict in the admistrative system.

Daily Sabah

“Today… Turkey has taken a historic decision,” Erdoğan told reporters at his official Istanbul residence, the Huber Palace. “With the people, we have realized the most important reform in our history,” he added.

“We would like other countries and institutions to show respect to the decision of the nation,” he said, calling allies to now show greater awareness of Turkey’s “sensitivities” in the “fight against terror”.

As of 9.25 p.m. (1825GMT), unofficial results showed Yes with 51.34 percent — 24,789,242 votes — while No had 48.66 percent, or 23,499,390 votes.

Sunday’s referendum asked voters to choose Yes or No on an 18-article bill that would see the country switch from a parliamentary to a presidential system, among other changes.