Turkish voters are to decide on Sunday whether to grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expanded powers in a referendum.
Yet despite the clear disadvantages in campaign capacities, the "No" camp - which brings together liberals, secularists and some Kurds and nationalists - is sufficiently competitive for the result to be seen as too close to call.
The worldwide community has said remarkably little to criticise this authoritarian drift - perhaps because Turkey holds serious sway over major problems affecting both the European Union and the US.
Referendum is being held to abolish the 1923 constitution and marginalize powers of the Prime Minister and placing a new form of Presidential system in the country. The move was initiated by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and supported by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
Europe's future depends on the Turks who live there, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a large public rally on Thursday.
"The 18 articles foresee a very loose separation of powers", said Ahmet Kasim Han, an associate professor of worldwide relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
Polls suggest a neck-and-neck race for Sunday's vote. "A new referendum could also be discussed".
The changes would implement a shake-up in the judiciary, which Erdogan has accused of being influenced by supporters of his arch foe, the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.
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Even without early elections, more policy gridlock is likely, particularly in the case of a "yes" victory forcing lawmakers to focus on harmonising laws and the legal system with the new executive presidency, rather than on policy reforms. If Erdoğan wins the day, the nexus of political power in Turkey will become the huge marble encrusted presidential palace which he ordered built on the outskirts of the country's capital, Ankara, at a reported cost of US$350m. Accusing both countries of Nazism, the AKP demonstrated the risks it was willing to take to stoke the fires of anti-Westernism in its pursuit of a "yes" vote.
Supporters say that stability is more important now than ever, with Turkey facing multiple security challenges including Kurdish separatists, conflict across the Syrian border and fallout from an alleged military coup a year ago.
It would come into force in 2019, when presidential and parliamentary elections would be held simultaneously and theoretically allow Erdogan two more mandates to stay in power to 2029.
Mass detentions immediately after the attempted coup were supported by many Turks, who agreed with Erdogan when he blamed US -based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen for orchestrating the putsch which killed 240 people, mostly civilians.
"I don't think the proposed model is lacking, but if things are determined to be lacking, we might need to address them and go to the people again", Mehmet Ucum said by phone late Wednesday.
A Turkish economist who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the weak economy was "already hurting" Erdogan and the "Yes" campaign.
The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which is running an observer mission for the polls, said in an interim report on Friday that "No" supporters "faced campaign bans, police interventions, and violent scuffles at their events".
Associated Press journalists Neyran Elden and Bram Janssen in Istanbul contributed.
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