2017 Turkish constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Turkey on 16 April 2017 on whether to approve 18 proposed amendments to the Turkish constitution that were brought forward by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). As a result of its approval, the office of Prime Minister was abolished and the existing parliamentary system of government was replaced with an executive presidency and a presidential system.[1] The number of seats in Parliament was raised from 550 to 600, while, among a series of other proposals, the president was given more control over appointments to the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).[2][3] The referendum was held under a state of emergency that was declared following the failed military coup attempt in July 2016.
Early results indicated a 51–49% lead for the "Yes" vote. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) allowed non-stamped ballots to be accepted as valid. Some critics of the reform decried this move to be illegal, claiming that as many as 1.5 million ballots were unstamped, and did not recognize the results.[4] Large-scale protests erupted following the results in order to protest the YSK's decision.[5] In subsequent reports, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) both criticized unfairness during the campaign and declared the YSK's decision to be illegal.[6][7]
An executive presidency was a long-standing proposal of the governing AKP and its founder, the current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In October 2016, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced its co-operation for producing draft proposals with the government, with the combined support of both AKP and MHP MPs being sufficient to put forward the proposals to a referendum following a parliamentary vote in January. Those in favour of a "Yes" vote argued that the changes were necessary for a strong and stable Turkey, arguing that an executive presidency would bring about an end to unstable coalition governments that had dominated Turkish politics since the 1960s up until 2002. The "No" campaign have argued that the proposals would concentrate too much power in the hands of the President, effectively dismantling the separation of powers and taking legislative authority away from Parliament. Three days before the referendum, one of Erdoğan's aides called for a federal system should the "Yes" vote prevail, causing a backlash from the pro-Yes MHP.[8] Both sides of the campaign have been accused of using divisive and extreme rhetoric, with Erdoğan accusing all "No" voters of being terrorists siding with the plotters of the failed 2016 coup.[9]
The campaign was marred by allegations of state suppression against "No" campaigners, while the "Yes" campaign was able to make use of state facilities and funding to organize rallies and campaign events.[10] Leading members of the "No" campaign, which included many high-profile former members of the MHP such as Meral Akşener, Ümit Özdağ, Sinan Oğan, and Yusuf Halaçoğlu were all subject to both violence and campaign restrictions. The "Yes" campaign was faced with campaigning restrictions by several European countries, with the German, Dutch, Danish and Swiss governments all cancelling or requesting the suspension of "Yes" campaign events directed at Turkish voters living abroad. The restrictions caused a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations and caused a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the Netherlands. Concerns were also raised about voting irregularities, with "Yes" voters in Germany being caught attempting to vote more than once and also being found to have been in possession of ballot papers before the overseas voting process had started.[11][12] European election monitors said the vote did not meet international standards.[13]
Constitutional amendments[edit]
Initial proposals[edit]
On 10 December 2016, the AKP and MHP brought forward a total of 21 proposed amendments to the constitution and began collecting signatures from MPs in order to begin the parliamentary procedures for initiating a referendum. After Assembly Commission talks, 3 proposals were withdrawn, leaving 18 amendments remaining. The full-text proposal in Turkish and the present Turkish constitution are found at the following links.[17][18] The most important changes have been highlighted by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations.[19]
An English-language summary and interpretation of the 18 amendments is listed in the table below.[20][21]
– Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz expressed his opposition to Turkey's accession to the European Union.[210]
Austria
– President Ilham Aliyev was the first international leader to call the Turkish President, saying that the result demonstrated "the Turkish people's great support" for Erdoğan's policy.[211]
Azerbaijan
– Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu Yandong, who was visiting Turkey at the time of the referendum, congratulated Erdoğan and the Turkish people on the victory.[212]
China
– Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that Cyprus hopes Turkey's stance will move the peace talks forward toward the stated goal of reunifying the island as a federation.
Cyprus
– President François Hollande stated that the Turkish people have the right to decide how to organize political institutions, but the referendum results show that Turkey is divided about the reforms.[213]
France
– Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili congratulated Turkey on the referendum results and remarked that Turkey's stable development was important to Georgia.
Georgia
– Chancellor Angela Merkel said the tight referendum result showed that Turkey is divided and reports over irregularities should be taken seriously.[213] Peter Altmaier, Merkel's chief of staff, said that Germany "would respect a result that came about in a free and democratic vote". Asked if the result was indeed free and democratic, he said he would wait for the verdict of election observers.[214]
Germany
– Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán called Erdoğan to congratulate him immediately after the referendum.[215]
Hungary
– Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, extended congratulations to his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Iran
– Iraqi Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi sent a message to congratulate the Turkish President.[211]
Iraq
– President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the people and government of Turkey on the successful conclusion of the country's referendum.
Nigeria
– President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also congratulated the Turkish people on the victory.[216]
Pakistan
– Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also congratulated the Turkish President on victory.[211]
Qatar
– President Vladimir Putin called the Turkish President to extend congratulations on behalf of the Russian people.[217]
Russia
– Saudi Arabia's cabinet congratulated Erdoğan and the Turkish people on the successful referendum of constitutional amendments.[218]
Saudi Arabia
– Somali President Mohamed Farmajo has congratulated the people and government of Turkey on the successful referendum on Turkey's future [219]
Somalia
– President Donald Trump called the Turkish President to congratulate him on the victory.[220]
