Under his expanded authority, Erdogan would be able to appoint judges and an unlimited number of vice presidents, while the parliament would lose its current ability to introduce no-confidence motions on government officials. Instead, MPs would be allowed only to submit written proposals against high-ranking ministers, while the president would remain immune to inquiries. More generally, the government’s rule-by-decree powers, which Erdogan has employed during the state of emergency, would become commonplace and streamlined under the proposed system. According to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, all this would amount to a “dangerous step backwards” for Turkey’s democracy. The consolidation of executive power under Erdogan, the Commission concluded, “would introduce … a presidential regime which lacks the necessary checks and balances required to safeguard against becoming an authoritarian one.”

In the run-up to the vote, opponents have feared voicing their dissent against Erdogan. After all, the country remains in a state of emergency following the failed coup attempt of July 2016. Public assembly is prohibited, and 13 opposition party members remain behind bars, preventing key figures from campaigning against Erdogan. Meanwhile, more than 100,000 state and private employees have been dismissed in ongoing purges and 47,000 people have been jailed for alleged terror links. The country also hosts roughly half of the world’s jailed journalists, with correspondents who publicize their intentions to vote “No” quickly stripped of their positions.

And still, with the referendum fast approaching, many more risk their careers, particularly state employees like Ok, by standing against Erdogan. “I’m quite sure, among my colleagues, there are people who want to vote ‘No,’ but they can’t say this out loud,” Ok said. “All around the world, this has only one name: It’s called a dictatorial regime. A one-man rule regime.”

Erdogan, the former mayor of Istanbul, rose to prominence in 2003 after winning elections as co-founder of the AKP, eventually becoming prime minister. Soon, he enacted a series of ambitious economic reforms that modernized infrastructure and improved living standards. After serving a record three terms as prime minister, Erdogan assumed the presidency in 2014, and has since transformed what had traditionally been a ceremonial role independent of party politics. Along the way, he has cast himself as a champion for the nation’s pious voters who have long felt exploited by the ruling urban elite and followers of the republic’s secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Such moves have made him the most popular, and the most divisive, leader in modern Turkish history.

Though public opinion is difficult to gauge amid the ongoing purges, recent polls suggest about half of Turkey’s voters support the proposed presidential system, while the other half largely accuses Erdogan of using religion and last year’s coup attempt to consolidate power and extend his tenure. If the referendum passes, he would be eligible for two additional five-year terms as president.