AKP applauds CHP’s decision not to take charter change to high court

ANKARA

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Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials have applauded main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) decision not to appeal to the Constitutional Court despite their fierce criticism over the constitutional amendment that is set to be voted on in a referendum in April.

“We welcome the decision of the CHP not to go to the Constitutional Court. We applaud this attitude of the CHP, which has hundreds of applications in the Constitutional Court in its 90-year history,” AKP’s group deputy chairperson, Bülent Turan, told reporters on Feb. 15 before a party executive board meeting.

His comments came after CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had announced that his party would not appeal to the Constitutional Court over the charter change amid speculations that they would, following their harsh criticism of the government-sponsored amendment seeking to shift the current parliamentary system into a presidential one.

“If the sovereignty of the people is at stake, the high council on this subject is the council of the people. That’s why we will not appeal to the Constitutional Court,” Kılıçdaroğlu said Feb. 14 in his party’s parliamentary group meeting.
 
Stating that “the decision of the public is fundamental,” Turan said the AKP appreciated the CHP’s acknowledgment of the principle.

“We welcomed the CHP, which had blocked many legislative processes by appealing to the top court. They appealed to the public, who they described as the ultimate ‘supreme court’ without appealing to the constitutional court first,” he said.


‘Naysayers are not terrorists’

Naci Bostancı, an AKP group deputy chairperson, said his party did not regard all of the naysayer camp as terrorists.

“We did not associate the people who are set to give ‘no’ votes with terror in any way, we did not have such an attitude,” he said, noting that criticizing the AKP for associating “no” voters with terrorists was aiming at making propaganda. 

“They refer to some statements, such as Mr. President’s statements. Such meaning certainly cannot be inferred from those statements. It’s a perception operation, nothing else,” he said.

“In legitimate grounds, both ‘yes’ voters and ‘no’ voters are the children of this nation and they are respectable. We would not have any other kind of attitude,” he added.