"We are voting for Turkey's destiny", said the standard-bearer of the "No" camp, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
However, according to the Guardian, the High Electoral Board in Turkey are saying that the number of opened ballots is lower than the figures being given on state-run news agency Anadolu.
Anadolu said 51.4 percent voted "yes" and backed the constitutional changes to replace Turkey's parliamentary system with a presidential vote, with 48.6 percent voting "no" against them.
His plans appeared to take a late blow as Turkey's three biggest cities Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir were reported to have voted against him.
The system would come into force after November 2019 elections.
"Since this morning, we have determined some 2.5 million problematic votes", he said.
When countries like the Netherlands stopped Turkish ministers from campaigning on their soil last month, Erdogan accused them of Nazi practices, throwing a critical deal on halting the flow of migrants to Europe into jeopardy.
The president will be able to appoint senior judges, declare a state of emergency, dissolve parliament and in some cases issue new laws be decree.
"They do not support this because they do not want what is best for Turkey", said Muhammet Sirin, a spokesman for a local AKP party branch in Istanbul, speaking of Erdogan's foreign critics.
The referendum has bitterly divided Turkey, and will affect the country's strained relations with the European Union.
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As prime minister, Erdogan garnered support from Turkey's Kurdish minority, which is estimated to make up about one-fifth of the country's population of 80 million people.
"Surrendering the Republic of Turkey to one person is a heavy sin". Both parties said they would appeal the results.
Erdogan has long sought to broaden his powers, but a previous attempt failed after the governing party that he co-founded fell short of enough votes to pass the reforms without holding a referendum.
Voting in Istanbul earlier Sunday, Erdogan described the referendum as an opportunity for "change and transformation" as black-clad bodyguards with automatic weapons stood guard.
On the eve of the vote, Erdogan's supporters tried to drive home the arguments they have made throughout the campaign: that the constitutional changes were a remedy to weak coalition governments, an affliction with a long history in Turkey, and that foreign opposition to the changes, including from European leaders, were meant to hold the country back. "A one-man system is like that".
"Yes, yes, yes! Our leader is the gift of God to us", said Mualla Sengul.
Erdogan served three consecutive terms as prime minister as head of his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, before becoming Turkey's first directly-elected president in 2014. "If we are here today, it is thanks to him". He's sought to fix his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin - a staunch ally of the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad that Erdogan opposes - while threatening to reconsider ties with the European Union, a bloc Turkey had been trying to join for half a century.
Erdogan blames Gulen, who lives in the United States, and his supporters for plotting the coup, an allegation Gulen has denied.
The government says Turkey, faced with conflict to the south in Syria and Iraq, and a security threat from Islamic State and PKK militants, needs strong and clear leadership to combat terrorism.
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