Turkey | Erdogan proves a popular and polarizing figure

Rising from humble origins to take the helm of Turkey’s government in 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdogan quickly attracted a fervent following. But Erdogan, who served as prime minister and then president, also became feared and hated by many who saw him as an increasingly autocratic leader seeking to erode the country’s secular traditions by imposing his conservative, religious views.

Constitutional changes that would change the country’s system of government from parliamentary to presidential — and grant Erdogan even more authority — were narrowly approved by Turkey’s voters yesterday [Macau time], according to unofficial results from the country’s election commission.

The changes, one of the most radical political reforms since the Turkish republic was established in 1923, could see the 63-year-old president remain in power until 2029.

The vote’s outcome reinforced Erdogan’s image as a figure both popular and polarizing. While thousands of flag-waving supporters cheered the referendum’s approval, political opponents immediately questioned the legitimacy of the balloting and said they intended to challenge a sizeable share of the count.

Erdogan served three consecutive terms as prime minister as head of his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, before becoming Turkey’s first directly elected president in 2014.

Supporters found in him a man who gave a voice to the working- and middle-class religious Turks who long had felt marginalized by the country’s Western-leaning elite.

He was seen to have ushered in a period of stability and economic prosperity, building roads, schools, hospitals and airports in previously neglected areas, transforming hitherto backwaters.

“He’s a real leadership figure because he is not a politician that comes from the outside. He comes from the street,” Birol Akgun, an international relations expert at Ankara’s Yildirim Beyazit University, said. “He has 40 years of political experience and is very strong in practical terms.”

But with each election win, Erdogan grew more powerful, and, his critics say, more authoritarian.

His election campaigns have been forceful and bitter, with Erdogan lashing out at his opponents, accusing them of endangering the country and even supporting terrorism. After surviving an attempted coup last July, Erdogan launched a wide-ranging crackdown on followers of his former ally, Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Erdogan blames Gulen, who lives in the United States, and his supporters for plotting the coup, an allegation Gulen has denied.

The crackdown saw roughly 100,000 people lose their jobs, including judges, lawyers, teachers, journalists, military officers and police. More than 40,000 people have been arrested and jailed, including pro-Kurdish lawmakers.

Hundreds of non-governmental organizations and news outlets have been shut down, as have many businesses, from schools to fertility clinics.

Erdogan has also blasted European countries, accusing authorities in the Netherlands and Germany of being Nazis for refusing to allow Turkish ministers to campaign for Sunday’s referendum among expatriate voters.

His critics fear that if the “yes” vote prevails in the referendum, Erdogan will cement his grip on power within a system that has practically no room for checks and balances, opposition or dissent. Elena Becatoros & Zeynep Bilginsoy, Istanbul, AP