Turkey opposition calls for vote to be cancelled

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s opposition on Tuesday, April 18, demanded the annulment of a contentious referendum that approved sweeping constitutional changes boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, claiming blatant vote-rigging.

The European Union also urged a probe into the poll fraud claims after international observers voiced concerns, but US President Donald Trump called his Turkish counterpart to offer his congratulations.

Critics fear the changes will lead to autocratic one-man rule under Erdogan, but supporters say they simply put Turkey in line with France and the United States and are needed for efficient government.

The ‘Yes’ camp won Sunday’s poll with just 51.41% of the vote but the result has been challenged, with opposition claims of vote rigging and angry protests staged in parts of the biggest city Istanbul.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy leader Bulent Tezcan formally requested that the Supreme Election Board (YSK) cancel the result.

The changes, most of which are due to come into force after November 2019, are some of the most far-reaching in Turkey since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established the modern state in the ashes of the Ottoman Empire in 1923.

The opposition is particularly incensed by a last-minute move by the YSK to accept ballot documents in envelopes without an official stamp.

“This is was an election without legitimacy,” Tezcan said after delivering the complaint to YSK headquarters in Ankara, claiming there was an organized campaign for the “stealing of the people’s will”.

“There is only one thing to do… and that’s to annul the referendum,” he added.

In an interview with the Hurriyet daily, CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu charged that the YSK “changed the rules of the game during the match”.

‘Nation has spoken’

International observers on Monday echoed some of the opposition concerns, enraging Erdogan.

The joint mission of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said the YSK move on the stamps “removed an important safeguard”.

After a lopsided campaign that saw the ‘Yes’ camp dominate the airwaves, the observers also complained that the campaign was conducted on an “unlevel playing field”.

But speaking to thousands of supporters in a triumphant address outside his presidential palace, Erdogan told the mission to “know your place”, saying Turkey had no intention of paying any attention to the report.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told his ruling party in Ankara on Tuesday that “everyone has to respect the result, including the main opposition party”.

“It’s wrong to say something after the nation has spoken,” he said.

‘Alleged irregularities’

The new system would dispense with the prime minister’s post and centralise the entire executive bureaucracy under the president, giving Erdogan the direct power to appoint ministers.

But the ‘Yes’ vote has even wider implications for Turkey, which joined NATO in 1952 and in the last half century has been engaged in a stalled bid to join the European Union.

Erdogan reaffirmed he would now hold talks on reinstating capital punishment – a move that would automatically end Turkey’s EU bid – and would call another referendum if the bill did not get enough votes in parliament to become law.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that if Ankara were to bring back the death penalty, the move would be “synonymous with the end of the European dream” for Turkey.

EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas also called on the Turkish authorities “to launch transparent investigations into these alleged irregularities found by the observers”.

In contrast to the tensions with the EU, Trump called Erdogan to “congratulate him on his recent referendum victory”, the White House said in a statement.

Turkish presidential sources quoted the US leader as saying: “I attach importance to our friendship and we have a lot of work to do together.”

‘Democratic victory’

In a blow to the prestige of the president, the ‘No’ campaign notched up the most votes in Turkey’s three biggest cities of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.

Analysts have said ‘No’ camp’s performance was impressive especially given that the election was held under a state of emergency first imposed after the failed July coup.

In the circumstances, the ‘No’ result was “a great democratic victory,” said CHP leader Kilicdaroglu.

The Hurriyet said a major cabinet reshuffle was now in the offing, with changes expected in some 10 cabinet posts.

There was also discussion on holding early elections, with one wing of the AKP emphasizing the need for calm and reconciliation up until 2019 but another wanting a snap poll at the latest before spring 2018.

Meanwhile, the cabinet late Monday agreed to extend the state of emergency – already in place for 9 months – for another three months. – Rappler.com