Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said that on the day of the referendum, on April 16, the nation would take possession of the seal. When I read this, I thought, "Well, this means the seal was in the hands of others beforehand." 

The race ahead of the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes shifting Turkey to an executive presidential system is still close, with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) needing to convince the undecideds among its constituency, according to Bekir Ağırdır, the general director of polling company Konda. 

Relations between Turkey and the West have never been easy since the fall of the Soviet Union, but they've got even worse after the so-called Arab Spring.

A group of former Justice and Development Party (AKP) ministers and other senior figures from the ruling party shared their concerns over the upcoming referendum at a April 16 meeting with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, according to sources. 

The referendum slated for April 16 will not be canceled, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said, responding to rumors on the cancellation of the referendum on shifting Turkey to an executive presidential system of government.

"No power can be successful in canceling the referendum," Kurtulmuş told state-run Anadolu Agency on March 22.

Assessments in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) reveal that there is no change in up to 9 percent of the undecided parts of the party.  

There is still some time until the referendum but the polarization in Turkey indicates that whatever the outcome is, there will not be a large difference between the two segments. 

Turkish officials will not campaign for the charter referendum in the Netherlands and Germany amid the increasing tension.

The Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Netherlands campaign manager, Mustafa Aslan, also told Dutch broadcaster NOS that no Turkish ministers would come to the Netherlands to campaign for the April 16 referendum.

Turkey's last but probably not the least fight with Europe is brewing over a campaign against the Netherlands and its decision to not allow Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to campaign for the upcoming referendum on constitutional amendments. But then again, why is the diaspora vote such a big deal anyway?

The Turkish parliament will go into recess until after the April 16 referendum following another busy agenda this week.

In the last month, Turkish lawmakers have approved 225 draft laws regarding international agreements signed with 88 countries thanks to rare consensus among all four parties represented in parliament.

Two weeks ago, this column suggested that campaign for the April 16 referendum on shifting Turkey to a presidential system of government was in a trend toward normalization, with the two camps beginning to use milder language to avoid direct criticism of each other.