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Belgian Turks vote 'yes' in historic referendum

17:11 17/04/2017

The large majority of Belgian Turks on Sunday voted 'yes' in a referendum for the expansion of President Erdogan's power. Of those who voted in Brussels, nearly 70% voted 'yes'. In Antwerp, the number was nearly 80%, reports Bruzz.

In the whole of Belgium, 75% of the voters decided 'yes', which puts Belgium among the leaders in the number of yes-votes in the Turkish diaspora, after Jordan and Lebanon. The majority of Turkish voters in Belgium's neighbouring countries also voted 'yes', unlike the United Kingdom, Spain and the United States, which saw a clear victory for the 'no' camp.

The victory of the 'yes' camp did not come as a surprise in Belgium, where the AKP, the party of President Erdogan, scored well in previous elections.

In Turkey itself, about 51.4% of the voters approved the constitutional shift to an expansion of presidential powers.

Written by Robyn Boyle