German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday urged Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to seek "respectful dialogue" within the country after his narrow win in a referendum extending his powers.
"The (German) government expects that the Turkish government will now seek respectful dialogue with all political and social forces in the country, after this tough election campaign," Merkel said in a statement issued jointly with foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel.
The 'Yes' camp won with 51.41 percent in Sunday's vote on giving Erdogan sweeping new powers, according to near-complete results, but angry opposition groups have cried foul and demanded a recount.
Merkel said Germany "respected the right of Turks to decide on their constitution", but added that "the close result shows the extent to which Turkish society is deeply divided".
During the referendum campaign, Erdogan lashed out at Germany and the Netherlands, accusing them of acting like the Nazis when they barred rallies for the 'Yes' camp.
International observers from the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are due to give their preliminary findings[1] on the referendum later Monday.
[1] INTERNATIONAL REFERENDUM OBSERVATION MISSION Republic of Turkey
Constitutional Referendum, 16 April 2017
STATEMENT OF PRELIMINARY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS | PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS
The 16 April constitutional referendum took place on an unlevel playing field and the two sides of the campaign did not have equal opportunities. Voters were not provided with impartial information about key aspects of the reform, and civil society organizations were not able to participate. Under the state of emergency put in place after the July 2016 failed coup attempt, fundamental freedoms essential to a genuinely democratic process were curtailed. The dismissal or detention of thousands of citizens negatively affected the political environment. One side’s dominance in the coverage and restrictions on the media reduced voters’ access to a plurality of views. While the technical aspects of the referendum were well administered and referendum day proceeded in an orderly manner, late changes in counting procedures removed an important safeguard and were contested by the opposition.