Ankara, Turkey — The Innovation Party (YP) has initiated a legal challenge to overturn a 2017 constitutional referendum, which granted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expansive powers by shifting Turkey’s governance from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency. The party’s lawsuit, filed in the Ankara 1st Civil Court of First Instance, claims that the use of unstamped ballots undermined the legitimacy of the vote, as reported by the Turkish edition of Euronews.
Party Chairman Öztürk Yılmaz announced the lawsuit on social media, where he distributed relevant court documents while emphasizing allegations of widespread irregularities concerning unstamped votes. The legal action comes amid increased judicial interventions in opposition politics, raising concerns among opposition figures about the implications for future elections.
Recent rulings have enabled civil courts to assert authority over political party matters, thereby creating a potentially alarming precedent. For instance, a court recently annulled the Istanbul provincial congress of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), giving rise to discussions about the validity of previous nationwide elections, including the 2017 referendum.
Former Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Şamil Tayyar warned that if civil courts start influencing electoral law, the integrity of election results could be jeopardized. He questioned the ramifications of a hypothetical scenario in which a civil court could nullify a decision by the election board just before vote counting.
The Nationalist İYİ (Good) Party’s Deputy Chairman Hakan Şeref Olgun characterized the Istanbul court ruling as a troubling attempt to manipulate politics through judicial means. He indicated that his party is ready to challenge the 2017 referendum in court, suggesting a serious escalation in the legal landscape surrounding Turkish politics.
In a recent decision, an Istanbul court annulled the CHP’s provincial congress and removed its chairman, Özgür Çelik, along with 195 board members, appointing veteran politician Gürsel Tekin as interim leader. This ruling comes just days before a critical hearing scheduled for September 15, where a civil court will revisit a case aimed at overturning the CHP’s national congress from November 2023.
The CHP, which made significant electoral gains in Turkey’s largest cities during the 2024 local elections and currently leads in polls against Erdoğan’s AKP, faces mounting legal pressure. Reports indicate that at least 15 CHP mayors are imprisoned on allegations of corruption and terrorism-related charges, which critics argue are politically motivated.
The 2017 referendum significantly altered the structure of Turkey’s governance, enabling Erdoğan to wield substantial power. The CHP had previously been urged to contest the results due to a controversial ruling by Turkey’s election authority allowing ballots lacking official stamps. That decision was criticized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which highlighted concerns about violations of electoral safeguards and the potential for ballot tampering.
As legal challenges escalate within the political arena, the landscape of Turkish governance and the legitimacy of its electoral processes remain under scrutiny, suggesting that forthcoming decisions could have far-reaching implications for the country’s democracy.
This article was automatically written by Open AI. The people, facts, circumstances, and story may be inaccurate. Any article can be requested to be removed, retracted, or corrected by writing an email to contact@publiclawlibrary.org.