Amir congratulates Erdogan
Opposition disputes poll win
KUWAIT CITY, April 17, (Agencies): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratulation on Monday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressing his best wishes for Turkey after the success of constitutional referendum, hoping as well for more developmental progress and prosperity for the country.
His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables marking the occasion.
Turkey’s ally Saudi Arabia on Monday praised the “success” of a referendum giving Erdogan sweeping new powers.
The Cabinet, at its weekly meeting, voiced “congratulations to President Erdogan of Turkey and the Turkish people on the success of the referendum regarding constitutional reforms,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Cabinet said it hoped the vote would contribute to “more development success across the country”.
The “Yes” camp won more than 51 percent in Sunday’s referendum while the “No” side got almost 49 percent, according to near-complete results released by Turkey’s election authorities.
International observers said the referendum campaign was conducted on an “unlevel playing field,” while Erdogan’s opponents fear the result will hand him one-man rule.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey, two Sunni Muslim powers, have become increasingly close over the past year, sharing in particular a backing for the opposition in Syria’s war.
Saudi King Salman hosted Erdogan when he visited Riyadh to further strengthen ties in February.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s opposition Monday called for the annulment of a referendum giving Erdogan sweeping new powers, as international monitors voiced concern over the campaign and vote count.
The referendum was seen as crucial not just for shaping the political system of Turkey but also the future strategic direction of a nation that has been a NATO member since 1952 and an EU hopeful for half a century.
Showing no sign of pulling his punches after the referendum victory, Erdogan sparked new alarm in EU capitals by saying Turkey’s next plebiscite could be on re-introducing the death penalty.
The ‘Yes’ camp won 51.41 percent in Sunday’s referendum and ‘No’ 48.59, according to complete results released by election authorities.
Erdogan, who opponents fear could now assume oneman rule, returned to Ankara from Istanbul, welcomed by thousands lining the roads as he drove in triumph aboard the presidential bus.
In a brief speech from the airport, Erdogan congratulated cheering supporters for “standing tall” in the face
of the “crusader mentality” of the West.
But the opposition immediately cried foul over alleged violations, claiming that a clean vote would have made a difference of several percentage points and handed them victory.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said they would challenge the results from most of the ballot boxes due to alleged violations.
“There is only one decision to ease the situation in the context of the law — the Supreme Election Board (YSK) should annul the election,” the Dogan news agency quoted CHP deputy leader Bulent Tezcan as saying.
The opposition was particularly incensed by a decision by the YSK to allow voting papers without official stamps to be counted, which they said opened the way for fraud.
The referendum has no “democratic legitimacy”, HDP spokesman and MP Osman Baydemir told reporters in Ankara.
The opposition had already complained of an unfair campaign that saw the ‘Yes’ backers swamp the airwaves and use up billboards across the country in a saturation advertising campaign.
The referendum campaign was conducted on an “unlevel playing field” and the vote count itself was marred by the late procedural changes that removed key safeguards, international observers said.
“The legal framework ... remained inadequate for the holding of a genuinely democratic referendum,” the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitors said in a joint statement.
“Late changes in counting procedures removed an important safeguard,” said Cezar Florin Preda, the head of the PACE delegation, referring to a move by the election authorities to allow voting documents without an official stamp.
But Turkey’s foreign ministry his back at the assessment, saying it was “biased” and “prejudiced” and adding it was “unacceptable” to say the poll did not reach democratic standards.
Erdogan’s victory was far tighter than expected, emerging only after several nail-biting hours late Sunday which saw the ‘No’ result dramatically catch up in the later count.
Turkey’s three largest cities — Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir — all voted ‘No’ although ‘Yes’ prevailed in Erdogan’s Anatolian heartland.
“The ‘Yes’ was victorious but the people have sent messages to the government and opposition that need to be carefully considered,” wrote progovernment Hurriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi.
The new system is due to come into effect after elections in November 2019 although Erdogan is expected to rapidly rejoin the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) he founded but had to leave when he became president.
In a bid to get back to business, Erdogan was on Monday to chair a cabinet and security meeting at his presidential palace that could extend the nine-month state of emergency brought in after the July 15 failed coup.
The new system would dispense with the office of prime minister and centralise the entire executive bureaucracy under the president, giving Erdogan the direct power to appoint ministers.
Indication
In an indication more strife with Brussels could be in the offing, Erdogan said he would now hold talks on reinstating capital punishment, a move that would automatically end Turkey’s EU bid.
If the opposition failed to support such a bill, he said another referendum could be held on reinstating the death penalty.
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” and mark the end of decades of talks to enter the European Union.
In an interview in the Bild mass circulation daily to be published Tuesday, he warned Turkey that “joining would not work right now”.
If Turkey were to hold a referendum on bringing back capital punishment it would be a break with European values, the French president’s office warned.
Erdogan declared victory in a contested referendum on constitutional changes that will significantly expand his powers.
Critics said the vote, which took place under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of last year’s failed coup, was unfair and the opposition vowed to challenge the results. Here’s a quick rundown on what happened in Sunday’s vote and what lies ahead for Turkey.
Narrow victory
The “yes” side won the referendum with 51.4 percent of the vote, compared to 48.6 percent for those opposed. Erdogan said turnout was estimated at 86 percent, which he described as proof of the strength of Turkish democracy.
What it means
The 18 constitutional amendments mean Turkey’s parliamentary system of governance is replaced with a presidential one. That allows the president to appoint ministers, senior government officials and hold sway over who sits in Turkey’s highest judicial body, as well as to issue decrees and declare states of emergency.
Timeline
Most of the changes won’t take effect until after the next presidential and parliamentary elections, slated for Nov 3, 2019. However, three amendments will automatically come into effect following the publication of official election results in 10 to 11 days, according to Mehmet Elitas, the deputy chairman
the governing party, AKP.
They include a repeal of military courts, a restructuring of Turkey’s board of judges and prosecutors, as well as the annulment of a law that required the president to sever any party ties. AKP, the party Erdogan co-founded, said it would invite him to rejoin.
Ballot controversy
An unprecedented electoral board decision to accept ballots that didn’t bear the official stamp has led to outrage among the opposition.
By law, for a vote to be considered valid, the ballot and the vote must bear official stamps. The system is designed to ensure only one vote is cast per registered voter and to avoid the possibility of ballot box stuffing.
Monitors of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe said Monday the decision undermined important safeguards against fraud and was contrary to Turkish law. Opposition parties announced they would challenge the count.
World reaction
Some European leaders reacted with concern over the result. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the result
shows “how deeply split the Turkish society is,” while Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said the outcome was bound to complicate further cooperation between Ankara and the European Union.
Turkey’s longstanding bid for EU membership was already in doubt and could be dropped for good if Erdogan follows through on suggestions to reintroduce the death penalty, which he reiterated after the referendum win.
The US State Department on Monday “encouraged voters and parties on both sides to focus on working together for Turkey’s future,” while calling on the government to protect rights and freedoms “regardless of their vote on April 16.”