Now the president must be impartial and without party favour, although opponents have accused Erdogan of blatantly flouting this rule.
Three of Turkey's biggest cities - Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir - all voted "no" to the constitutional changes.
Erdogan claimed victory for the "yes" vote as state media reported that, with almost all votes counted, 51.4% had voted in favor versus 48.6% against.
Narrowly won by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the referendum asked voters to boost the powers of the Turkish head of state - a move that rights watchdogs have said could fatally weaken democracy in the linchpin country. However, the opposition, particularly the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) will also have to answer hard questions.
"Especially, the changes related to the presidential system will be enacted after elections on November 3, 2019", he said.
"At the moment it is impossible to determine how many such votes there are and how many were stamped later".
Opposing parties said that this referendum is a step towards additional tyranny in a country where more than 47,000 were imprisoned and more than 140,000 were dismissed during a campaign post the failed coup in July, leading to criticizing Turkey by its allies in the West and the global rights organization.
"Final referendum results will be released within 11-12 days", said Sadi Guven, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
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Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency, meant to be a largely ceremonial position, in 2014 after more than a decade as prime minister.
The Council of Europe includes all 28 European Union members and most others on the continent to monitor human rights, another bone of contention for the European Union which has repeatedly expressed concern over Erdogan's massive crackdown after a failed military coup against him in July.
"A victory of the nation", said the headline in the pro-government Yeni Safak daily.
Erdogan survived a failed coup attempt in July past year, responding with a crackdown that has seen 47,000 people detained and 120,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs. Supporters of the "no" vote have complained of intimidation, including beatings, detentions and threats.
Turkish opposition figures have called for the results of Sunday's referendum granting new presidential powers to be annulled, citing unstamped ballots given to voters.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere is expected to get tenser, as President Erdogan will be calling for another referendum on the reintroduction of the death penalty, bringing Turkey into a collision course with Brussels.
In what has been a very important political event in the history of Turkey, the country appears to be visibly divided on the matter of the powers of the President. Therefore, he felt the need to receive the nation's approval in order to amend the constitution and change the governmental system to an all-powerful presidency, however without the checks and balances that the United States governmental system has. His party said it would demand a recount of up to 60 percent of the votes.
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