Referendum in Turkey: The ‘no’ bloc need to have a programme

Evrensel (24 April 2017) Serpil Ilgun from Evrensel Daily talked to Murat Somer, Associate Professor of Political Sciences and International Relations from Koc University in Istanbul about the Turkish referendum and its social outcomes. Somer: The ‘No’ bloc owes its success to its calm. The results have given them self-confidence and this needs to be […]

REMAINS OF A HIGHLY-DISPUTED VOTE

(Fatih Polat, Evrensel, 19.4.17) Due to its extremely oppressive atmosphere, the very public vote rigging and the unravelling political picture in its aftermath, the referendum of 16 April 2017 has been the most controversial vote in Turkish political history. High Election Council’s (YSK) decision to accept unsealed envelopes and ballots while voting still continued – […]

The referendum and its results are not legitimate!

(Mustafa Yalciner, Evrensel, 18.4.17) Scarcely 51.4% of ‘yes’ vote has been reached! 48.6% said “no.” All the big cities, the industrial regions, with the exception of the city of Bursa and Kocaeli, declared “No, We Will Not Accept a One Man Dictatorship.” Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Mersin, Diyarbakir… have all said its not possible but […]

Erdogan and the AKP government claim victory in rigged referendum

Approximately 50 million voters headed over to the ballot boxes on 16 April to vote on the referendum for constitutional changes in Turkey. The public were presented with manipulated figures, purporting to show a victory for the Yes vote, equivalent to 51.4% ‘yes’ and 48.6% ‘no’. All big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, […]

Not even a Pyrrhic victory!

Ihsan Caralan (Evrensel, 17.4.17) The referendum for a constitutional amendment that will take Turkey to a “one party, one man regime” was held last Sunday. Initial reports show a 51.4 “yes” and 48.6 “no” vote. Both the close results and the fact that the two big parties of the “no” camp, People’s Republican Party (CHP) […]

Finding of the international observers. 

The 16 April constitutional referendum in Turkey was contested on an unlevel playing field, and the two sides in the campaign did not have equal opportunities, the international observers concluded in a statement released today. While the technical aspects of the process were well administered, voters were not provided with impartial information about key aspects of the […]

We must stand in solidarity with the people of Turkey.

Steve Sweeney, SPOT Steering Committee member reports from Turkey on the aftermath of the referendum.  I was part of the demonstrations in Besiktas last night where people were opposing the outcome of the referendum result. The result cannot be given any credibility and should not be legitimised. Opposition CHP and HDP have announced they will […]

We will continue our struggle!

Press release and public announcement on the outcome of the referendum in Turkey We will continue our struggle against the shady referendum outcome and one-man rule! This was a referendum held under a state of emergency and oppressive policies. This was a campaign full of inequalities and injustices. As if this was not enough, the […]

Why Should We Support The “No” Vote In Turkey’s April Referendum?

As you know tomorrow is a hugely significant day for Turkey, where citizens are being asked to make a significant decision about the future of their country. The people of Turkey will tomorrow vote on a new constitution which, if passed, will result in the granting of ultimate executive powers to the President and will […]