Erdogan Teaches Quran to Grandson
The pro-government Yeni Safak daily has published the photo of Erdogan and Ahmet Akif Albayrak days before Turks vote in a referendum on 16 April on whether or not to change the country’s constitution and hand the president more power.
Ahmet is the son of the president’s daughter Esra Albayrak and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak.
The photo seeks to show that despite his intensive program to encourage Turks to vote for the changes in the constitution, Erdogan does not neglect to devote time to his family and to religious affairs.
The referendum has opened up deep rifts in Turkey.
It would change the Turkish constitution from a parliamentary to a presidential system. The office of prime minister would be scrapped, and the president, who would be elected directly by popular vote, would be the head of the executive branch of government as well as the head of state.
The president would gain a number of powers, including the right to draw up budgets, to appoint and dismiss government ministers and judges, and to issue decrees in some areas. The president would also be allowed to retain an affiliation to a political party. At present the president is required to nominally sever his political ties and govern as a "neutral."
