Turkey extended its state of emergency on Monday (April 17) by three months starting from Wednesday (April 19), its third such extension after a coup attempt last July, the deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said.
The decision came after the National Security Council recommended its extension, Kurtulmus told a news conference in the capital, Ankara.
Emergency rule, first imposed in Turkey after an abortive military coup on July 15 and then extended in October, enables the government to bypass parliament in enacting new laws and to limit or suspend rights and freedoms when deemed necessary.
Turks on Sunday (April 16) voted by a narrow 51.4 percent margin in a referendum to change their constitution, granting President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers. The main opposition party has demanded the result be nullified, saying the voting was marred by irregularities.
