Turkey: Referendum fraud allegations to be investigated

The head of Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) has given assurances that the objections to Sunday’s referendum results will be evaluated and investigated in full.

“We are going to evaluate the objections before noon,” Sadi Guven told reporters in Ankara this morning, in reference to the millions of votes that were challenged by both the ultra-secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish separatist People’s Democratic Party (HDP) following the plebiscite on Sunday.

On Sunday, a narrow majority of Turkish voters cast their ballots in favour of 18 constitutional amendments that will, among other things, see Turkey transform from a parliamentary to a presidential system of governance.

Read: Istanbul reacts to the presidential referendum

According to preliminary and unofficial results, the “Yes” campaign won with about 51.4 per cent of the popular vote, while the “No” votes stood at 48.6 percent. Voter participation was very high at 85.46 per cent.

On Tuesday, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu slammed the Board’s decision to count unsealed ballots in the referendum.

Kilicdaroglu said he respected the nation’s will but the decision on unsealed ballots had overshadowed and marred the results.

“The rule of a match cannot be changed while the match is still being played, this is a universal rule,” he said.

Erdogan says: ‘I believe in people’s sense of democracy’

ANKARA, TURKEY – APRIL 17 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd, who are celebrating the results of the referendum at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on April 17, 2017.
( Turkish Presidency / Yasin Bulbul – Anadolu Agency )