Opposition cries foul, seeks annulment; international community doubts fairness of campaign

Turkey’s Opposition Monday called for the annulment of a referendum giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, as international monitors voiced concern over the campaign and vote count.

With political tensions once again escalating in Turkey after a result that opponents fear will hand Mr. Erdogan one-man rule, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for dialogue to seek calm.

Future direction

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% in Sunday’s referendum and ‘No’ 48.59, according to near-complete results released by the election authorities.

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.

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“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.

Changes in procedures

“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.

Mr. 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.

“On April 17, we have woken up to a new Turkey,” wrote pro-government 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 Mr. Erdogan would this month get an offer to rejoin that party he founded but had to leave when he became president.

In a bid to get back to business, Mr. 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, Turkish media said.