Erdogan's bid for sweeping power set for vote today

Turkish voters will decide on Sunday whether to endorse President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bid to centralise power in his hands in the most radical shake-up since the republic was formed 93 years ago.

Opinion polls this month showed the referendum was too close to predict after two months of campaigning that divided Turks and damaged ties with the European Union, where some states slammed the vote as an affront to democracy.

“Whatever the outcome, there won’t be a respite from the growing authoritarianism” of Erdogan, said Wolfango Piccoli, the London-based co-president of political risk advisory Teneo Intelligence.

It’s been just nine months since