Turkey opposition steps up objections to Erdogan win
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s opposition yesterday stepped up its objections to the conduct of a referendum that gave President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers by a narrower than expected margin and exposed bitter divisions in the country.
With political tensions once again escalating in Turkey after a contest opponents fear will hand Erdogan one man rule, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for dialogue to seek calm.
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.
The ‘ Yes’ camp won 51.41 per cent in Sunday’s referendum on a new presidential system and ‘No’ 48.59, according to near- complete results released by the election authorities.
But 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.
With the opposition crying foul over alleged violations, all eyes will be on Monday afternoon’s announcement by international observers from the OSCE and the Council of Europe who will give their initial assessment of the vote.
“On April 17, we have woken up to a new Turkey,” wrote the progovernment Hurriyet columnist Abdulkadir Selvi.
“The ‘Yes’ was victorious but the people have sent messages to the government and opposition that need to be carefully considered.”
The new system is due to come into effect after elections in November 2019.
However the parliament faction chief of the ruling Justice Development Party (AKP), Mustafa Elitas said Erdogan would his month get an offer to rejoin that party he founded but had to leave when he became president — under the last constitution a supposedly apolitical role.
The opposition were not content to rest on their better- thanexpected performance despite a lopsided campaign in which the ‘Yes’ camp enjoyed vastly greater resources and dominated the airwaves.
Both 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 were particularly incensed by a decision by the Supreme Election Board ( YSK) to allow voting papers without official stamps to be counted, which they said opened the way for fraud.
Overnight sporadic protests by disgruntled ‘ No’ voters erupted in parts of Istanbul, with demonstrators banging pots and pans to voice their discontent.
“A victory of the nation,” said the headline in the progovernment Yeni Safak daily. “Turkey has won.”