Turkey slams EU call for referendum probe

Minister demands that EU ‘respect Turkey’s democratic processes’ amid call for annulment

Turkey’s main opposition began a battle yesterday to annul a referendum handing President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, while the bar association and an international monitor said an illegal move by electoral authorities may have swung the vote.

A defiant Erdogan has said Sunday’s vote ended all debate on the more powerful presidency he has long sought, and told European observers who criticised it: “talk to the hand”.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, whose job will cease to exist once the constitutional changes take full effect, said Erdogan would be invited to rejoin the ruling AK Party as soon as official results are announced, a sign the government has no intention of waiting to see the outcome of opposition appeals.

Under the outgoing constitution, the president had been required to remain impartial and renounce party political ties.

Illegal decision

Turkey’s bar association said a last-minute decision by the YSK electoral board to allow unstamped ballots in the referendum was clearly against the law, prevented proper records being kept, and may have impacted the results.

“With this illegal decision, ballot box councils (officials at polling stations) were misled into believing that the use of unstamped ballots was appropriate,” the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) said in a statement.

“Our regret is not over the outcome of the referendum, but because of the desire to overlook clear and harsh violations of the law that have the potential to impact the results,” it said.

The main opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), which has said it will take its challenge to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary, was to present a formal appeal to annul the vote to the YSK later on Tuesday.

CHP deputy chairman Bulent Tezcan said the number of missing votes was “unprecedented”, although the exact number of unstamped ballots was unknown.

Meanwhile, a Turkish government minister yesterday blasted the European Union’s “unacceptable” appeal for a probe.

“Such a speculative statement from a spokesperson cannot be accepted,” Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said calling on the EU to “respect democratic processes”.

His comments came after Brussels urged Ankara to probe claims of irregularities in Sunday’s vote. This is the end of Turkey as we know it