Constitution Referendum in Turkey
After months of discussion about the constitution, the reform package drafted by the government will be voted in a referendum on September 12th.
The constitutional reform package makes changes to the 22 articles of the current constitution, and overall the package consists of 26 articles. 13 of those articles are related to changes in the judiciary. Remaining proposed changes are on issues regarding gender equality, collective agreement for public employees, protection of privacy, freedom to travel, ombudsmanship, inclusion of economic and social council in the constitution, and lifting of the "Temporary 15th Article" that protected the members of the junta regime that were responsible for the September 12, 1980 coup d'état.
As the referendum date is getting closer, most political organizations announced their position on the referendum; the "yes" camp headed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the "no" camp led by Republican People's Party (CHP), and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the "boycott" camp that is mostly led by the Kurdish movement and some other left parties.
Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been acting as the spokesman of the "yes" camp, but AKP is not alone; some old generation right wing groups, and the liberal "left" also announced that they are supporting the proposed reform package. This group claims that the new constitution will help to bring progress and democracy to Turkey. Abolition of the article 15 that is likely to instigate the trial process of the 1980 junta government seems to be the strongest affirmation of the democracy claims of the "yes" group.
There is much diversity among the supporters of the "no" option. Led by the Republican People's Party (CHP), and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the "no" camp mostly stands for the status quo. This group is especially nervous about the proposed changes to the judiciary since they believe that the implicit goal of these changes is to help AKP to take over the judiciary. After the presidential change at the CHP, more anti-AKP support is expected for the "no" camp. Another group within the "no" camp consists of leftist political parties such as EMEP, ÖDP, TKP, and some union branches. While these groups believe in the necessity of a constitutional change, they aim at the defeat of AKP through the referendum.
Peace and Democray Party (BDP) leads the group that will be boycotting the constitutional referendum. BDP decided to join the boycott group mainly due to the lack of changes in the package regarding the democratic rights of the Kurds. BDP is carrying on the "boycott campaign" mostly in the Kurdish provinces and has also been calling for "democratic autonomy". Some other leftist political parties and labor organizations are also supporting the "boycott campaign". These groups declared that they won't be supporting the reform package unless it recognizes the democratic rights of the Kurds and laborers. Another argument that prevails in this camp is the fact that proposed changes are minor retouches to the current constitution, and the essence of the 1980 constitution is being protected. Intellectuals also constitute a major part in this group; about 400 intellectuals and unionist recently made a call for boycotting.
YES:
AKP, BBP, EDP, SP
NO:
CHP, MHP, DSP, EMEP, HALKEVLERİ, ÖDP, TKP, SOSYALIST PARTİ
BOYCOTT:
BDP, DHF, ESP, SDP, SODAP, Partizan
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