Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) will not withdraw from parliament over Sunday's referendum, party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said.
“We don’t have the intention to abandon parliament. Why would we do so? The people sent us there. We’ll be there to defend the people’s rights in the face of the election fraud that was carried out. There are votes of some 50 million voters in total. There is no one else to bring them to account. We won’t let the people be cheated,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, party spokeswoman Selin Sayek Böke said CHP was considering withdrawal from parliament in protest at irregularities in the referendum and called for it to be held again.
Saying the High Electoral Board (YSK) decision “harms the reputation of the parliament,” Kılıçdaroğlu noted that the board’s decision implies that it does not recognise the ruling of the Constitutional Court.
Turkish voters went to polling stations on Sunday to either support or reject government-backed constitutional changes that would convert the country's governance system into a presidential one and therefore increase presidential powers. An unprecedented electoral board decision to accept as valid ballots that didn't bear the official stamp has led to outrage. The fraudulent referendum results showed that the amendments to the constitution were approved by 51.41 percent of votes with all ballots counted.
