Main opposition CHP to appeal to Euro court for charter referendum results 

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced on April 26 that it would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over the April 16 referendum results.

The CHP’s decision was announced by party spokesperson Selin Sayek Böke following a weekly party central executive committee meeting. 

“We will apply to the ECHR in the upcoming days,” Böke said.

The party’s decision came after the Council of State rejected its appeal on April 25 to repeal a Supreme Election Board (YSK) decision that changed the legal criteria of the validity of unsealed ballots on referendum day. In its preliminary justification, the Council of State said it was not possible to appeal the decisions of the YSK regarding elections, while indicating that it will later provide a more detailed written justification for its ruling. 

Following the Council of State’s decision, the CHP Party Assembly issued a written statement on April 25, vowing to continue its struggle against the presidential system. 

 “The referendum was held in the conditions of state of emergency rule in circumstances where the state’s resources and public power were utilized wastefully and the media was dominated. Despite all this oppression, our citizens went to the ballot box and manifested a strong will for ‘no,’” the statement read.

“Our struggle against this illegitimate referendum and any authoritarian regulation and intrusion to build upon it will continue in all fields,” it said.

“Those who could not affect the will of the public have decided to attain their targets with the ‘unsealed referendum’ which they created via the YSK. The YSK, which, in contravention of the law, accepted ballots without seals during the counting of votes, has smeared the will of 49 million voters and destroyed the legitimacy of the referendum,” it added.

The CHP also expressed its discomfort with a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decision to again place Turkey under a monitoring process.

“Although, we reject the government’s policies and actions on suspending Turkey’s EU targets, we do not approve of this decision by PACE either. Turkey is not just made up of the Justice and Development Party,” it said.