ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey is holding a national referendum Sunday to approve or reject a package of constitutional reforms that would replace the country’s parliamentary system with a presidential one. The referendum is seen by many as the ultimate test of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity.
Here’s a look at the electoral process and the issues at stake:
THE VOTE
More than 55 million people are eligible to cast votes in some 167,000 ballot boxes at polling stations across the country. Close to 3 million expatriate Turkish citizens in 57 countries were also eligible to vote between March 27 and April 9 at Turkish diplomatic missions.
The ballot paper is simply divided into a “yes” and a “no” section. No question is written on the ballot paper and it is assumed that the people know what they are voting for.
Polls open at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 4:00 p.m. (1300 GMT) Sunday in 32 eastern provinces, and open and close an hour later in the rest of the country.
Turkey has no official exit polls and media are barred from publishing or broadcasting election results until the High Election Board lifts the ban at 1800 GMT or earlier.
THE MAIN ISSUES
The “yes” camp argues that the proposed changes for a strong presidency will create a robust and stable Turkey, while the “no” side says they would give the office of the president too many powers with very few safeguards.
If approved in the referendum, the changes would transfer executive powers currently held by the prime minister to the president. The prime minister’s office would be abolished.
The president would have the powers to dismiss ministers, issue decrees, declare a state of emergency, and make appointments to key positions.
The changes give the president considerable powers over the appointment of members of a council that overseas judges and prosecutors — a move that critics say could further erode the already weak separation of powers in Turkey. The ruling party argues however that the reforms, which require courts to be “impartial” — and not just “independent” — will strengthen the judiciary.
The president would appoint an unlimited number of vice presidents. Currently, the council of ministers is largely made up of elected legislators. With the changes the members of the council of ministers would not be elected.
The president would be able to remain a member of a political party or even lead it — ending the tradition of presidential impartiality. Under the current Constitution, presidents are required to severe ties with their parties.
OTHER CHANGES
The president can be elected for two consecutive five-year terms. However, some observers say an early election called in the second-term would reset the clock and allow the president to run for an extra term — meaning that Erdogan could rule until 2029 and beyond.
Referring the president to the country’s top court for possible impeachment would require a two-thirds parliamentary majority. The parliament would not be able to bring down a government or a minister in a vote of no confidence. The ruling party argues that the changes will remedy the current system under which the president can only be tried for treason.
Presidential and legislative elections would be held at the same time. If the president dissolves parliament, then both parliamentary and presidential elections will be renewed.
The reforms would increase the number of seats in parliament from the current 550 to 600. The age of candidacy for a parliamentary seat would be lowered from 25 to 18.
THE CAMPAIGN
The “yes” campaign — backed by Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and the ruling Justice and Development Party — has dominated Turkey, while the opposition “no” camp have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime, and disregard by pro-government media.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, says it has counted more than 100 incidents of obstructions to the “no” campaign, ranging from physical assault to death threats.
Erdogan and government officials are accused of using state resources and official functions such as openings of infrastructure projects to campaign in favor of the changes.
Campaigning took place under a state of emergency imposed following last summer’s failed military coup attempt. More than 150 media outlets have been closed and some 150 journalists jailed. About a dozen legislators from Turkey’s opposition pro-Kurdish party are also in prison. An emergency rule decree has removed the Supreme Electoral Board’s powers to fine media who do not provide impartial coverage.
SECURITY
Turkey has suffered from a series of violent attacks and bombings since 2015, linked to the resumption of conflict with Kurdish rebels in the southeast and increased activity of foreign and local Daesh group cells in Turkey.
More than 250,000 police officers and nearly 130,000 paramilitary police will be on duty on Sunday, in addition to some 6,000 military personnel on stand-by, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
Turkey referendum: What are the main issues and process?
Turkey referendum: What are the main issues and process?
Gaza war death toll could be 40 percent higher, says study
They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41 percent higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count
LONDON: An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by around 40 percent in the first nine months of the war as the Gaza Strip’s health care infrastructure unraveled, according to a study published on Thursday.
The peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal was conducted by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University and other institutions.
Using a statistical method called capture-recapture analysis, the researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024.
They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41 percent higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count. The study said 59.1 percent were women, children and people over the age of 65. It did not provide an estimate of Palestinian combatants among the dead.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials, from a pre-war population of around 2.1 million.
A senior Israeli official, commenting on the study, said Israel’s armed forces went to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.
“No other army in the world has ever taken such wide-ranging measures,” the official said.
“These include providing advance warning to civilians to evacuate, safe zones and taking any and all measures to prevent harm to civilians. The figures provided in this report do not reflect the situation on the ground.”
The war began on Oct. 7 after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border with Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Lancet study said the Palestinian health ministry’s capacity for maintaining electronic death records had previously proven reliable, but deteriorated under Israel’s military campaign, which has included raids on hospitals and other health care facilities and disruptions to digital communications.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its operations, which the militant group denies.
STUDY METHOD EMPLOYED IN OTHER CONFLICTS
Anecdotal reports suggested that a significant number of dead remained buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings and were therefore not included in some tallies.
To better account for such gaps, the Lancet study employed a method used to evaluate deaths in other conflict zones, including Kosovo and Sudan.
Using data from at least two independent sources, researchers look for individuals who appear on multiple lists of those killed. Less overlap between lists suggests more deaths have gone unrecorded, information that can be used to estimate the full number of deaths.
For the Gaza study, researchers compared the official Palestinian Health Ministry death count, which in the first months of war was based entirely on bodies that arrived in hospitals but later came to include other methods; an online survey distributed by the health ministry to Palestinians inside and outside the Gaza Strip, who were asked to provide data on Palestinian ID numbers, names, age at death, sex, location of death, and reporting source; and obituaries posted on social media.
“Our research reveals a stark reality: the true scale of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza is higher than reported,” lead author Zeina Jamaluddine told Reuters.
Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Reuters that the statistical methods deployed in the study provide a more complete estimate of the death toll in the war.
The study focused solely on deaths caused by traumatic injuries though, he said.
Deaths caused from indirect effects of conflict, such as disrupted health services and poor water and sanitation, often cause high excess deaths, said Spiegel, who co-authored a study last year that projected thousands of deaths due to the public health crisis spawned by the war.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimates that, on top of the official death toll, around another 11,000 Palestinians are missing and presumed dead.
In total, PCBS said, citing Palestinian Health Ministry numbers, the population of Gaza has fallen 6 percent since the start of the war, as about 100,000 Palestinians have also left the enclave.
Syria monitor says alleged Assad loyalist ‘executed’ in public
- Fighters affiliated with the new authorities executed Mazen Kneneh with a shot to the head in the street
BEIRUT: A Syria monitor said fighters linked to the Islamist-led transitional administration publicly executed a local official on Friday, accusing him of having been an informant under ousted strongman Bashar Assad.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters affiliated with the new authorities executed Mazen Kneneh with a shot to the head in the street in the Damascus suburb of Dummar, describing him as “one of the best-known loyalists of the former regime.”
Japan congratulates Lebanon on electing new President
- The ministry also said that Japan will continue to support Lebanon
TOKYO: The Government of Japan said it congratulates Lebanon on the election of the new President Joseph Aoun on January 9.
A statement by the Foreign Ministry said while Lebanon has been facing difficult situations such as a prolonged economic crisis and the exchange of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, the election of a new President is an important step toward stability and development of the country.
“Japan once again strongly demands all parties concerned to fully implement the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement added.
The ministry also said that Japan will continue to support Lebanon’s efforts on achieving social and economic stability in the country as well as stability in the Middle East region.
Lebanon PM to visit new Damascus ruler on Saturday
- Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighboring Syria since the fall of president Bashar Assad, his office told AFP
BERUIT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati will on Saturday make his first official trip to neighboring Syria since the fall of president Bashar Assad, his office told AFP.
Mikati’s office said Friday the trip came at the invitation of the country’s new de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa during a phone call last week.
Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens last week, two security sources have told AFP, following what the Lebanese army said was a border skirmish with unnamed armed Syrians.
Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID card.
Lebanon’s eastern border is porous and known for smuggling.
Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah supported Assad with fighters during Syria’s civil war.
But the Iran-backed movement has been weakened after a war with Israel killed its long-time leader and Islamist-led rebels seized Damascus last month.
Lebanese lawmakers elected the country’s army chief Joseph Aoun as president on Thursday, ending a vacancy of more than two years that critics blamed on Hezbollah.
For three decades under the Assad clan, Syria was the dominant power in Lebanon after intervening in its 1975-1990 civil war.
Syria eventually withdrew its troops in 2005 under international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafic Hariri.
UN says 3 million Sudan children facing acute malnutrition
- Famine has already gripped five areas across Sudan, according to a report last month
- Sudan has endured 20 months of war between the army and the paramilitary forces
PORT SUDAN, Sudan: An estimated 3.2 million children under the age of five are expected to face acute malnutrition this year in war-torn Sudan, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“Of this number, around 772,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition,” Eva Hinds, UNICEF Sudan’s Head of Advocacy and Communication, told AFP late on Thursday.
Famine has already gripped five areas across Sudan, according to a report last month by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a UN-backed assessment.
Sudan has endured 20 months of war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing tens of thousands and, according to the United Nations, uprooting 12 million in the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Confirming to AFP that 3.2 million children are currently expected to face acute malnutrition, Hinds said “the number of severely malnourished children increased from an estimated 730,000 in 2024 to over 770,000 in 2025.”
The IPC expects famine to expand to five more parts of Sudan’s western Darfur region by May — a vast area that has seen some of the conflict’s worst violence. A further 17 areas in western and central Sudan are also at risk of famine, it said.
“Without immediate, unhindered humanitarian access facilitating a significant scale-up of a multisectoral response, malnutrition is likely to increase in these areas,” Hinds warned.
Sudan’s army-aligned government strongly rejected the IPC findings, while aid agencies complain that access is blocked by bureaucratic hurdles and ongoing violence.
In October, experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council accused both sides of using “starvation tactics.”
On Tuesday the United States determined that the RSF had “committed genocide” and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary group’s leader.
Across the country, more than 24.6 million people — around half the population — face “high levels of acute food insecurity,” according to IPC, which said: “Only a ceasefire can reduce the risk of famine spreading further.”
