Turkey rejects EU call for referendum probe

Turkey rejected on Tuesday the EU call for referendum probe. Turkey’s minister for European Union affairs lashed out at the EU’s “unacceptable” appeal for a probe into alleged irregularities in the referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers.

Omer Celik defended what he said were Turkey’s strong legal framework and transparent process for elections.

“Politically motivated comments against the YSK’s decision to accept unstamped ballots are wrong,” Celik said, referring to the electoral board by its Turkish acronym.

“Such a speculative statement from a spokesperson cannot be accepted,” Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik told reporters at a televised press conference, calling on the EU to “respect democratic processes”.

His comments came after Brussels urged Ankara to probe claims of irregularities in Sunday’s vote which resulted in a narrow win for the ‘Yes’ camp on the controversial constitutional changes.

“We call on the Turkish authorities to consider the next steps very carefully, and to seek the broadest possible national consensus in the follow-up to the national referendum,” European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said at a press conference in Brussels.

Turkey’s main opposition began a battle on Tuesday to annul a referendum handing President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, while the bar association and an international monitor said an illegal move by electoral authorities may have swung the vote.

Celia also denounced election observers’ criticism that the country’s referendum fell below international standards, saying their remarks lacked objectivity and impartiality.

A mission of observers from the 47-member Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights body, said the referendum, in which ‘Yes’ votes to grant President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers narrowly won, was an uneven contest.

“Saying the referendum fell below international standards is unacceptable,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that previous ‘politically charged’ comments from OSCE monitors showed the team arrived in Turkey with prejudice and disregarded principles of objectivity and impartiality.

On Monday, the OSCE observer mission stated that the “no” campaign did not receive equal opportunities as the campaign in support of the referendum, adding that voters did not receive impartial information about the key points of the proposed amendments.

The mission also criticised the country’s High Electoral Board (YSK) decision to accept unstamped ballot papers. The OSCE concluded that the referendum did not meet the standards of the Council of Europe.

The European Commission called on Turkey on Tuesday to investigate “alleged irregularities” in Sunday’s referendum boosting the powers of President Tayyip Erdogan.

“We call on the Turkish authorities to consider the next steps very carefully and to seek the broadest possible national consensus in the follow-up to the referendum,” Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a regular briefing.

“In view of the observers’ report, the close referendum result and the far-reaching implications of the constitutional amendments, we call on the Turkish authorities to consider the next steps very carefully and seek the broadest possible national consensus in the follow-up to the referendum,” the spokesman said. “We call on all actors to show restraint and on the authorities to launch transparent investigations into these alleged irregularities found by the observers.”

Schinas confirmed that neither Juncker nor the president of the European council, Donald Tusk, had spoken to Erdoğan since his victory.

“We also call on the authorities to launch a transparent investigation into these alleged irregularities,” he said, citing international observer reports and a last-minute decision to allow unstamped ballots in the referendum.

Before the referendum, Erdoğan said Turkey will review its relationship with the European Union. Erdoğan said Turkey, a candidate country to join the European Union, had been unduly left waiting outside the bloc.

“Turkey is not their scapegoat. Everyone will know their place,” he said.

In contrast with the EU attitude, Donald Trump congratulated the Turkish president personally on the phone on Monday.