Kılıçdaroğlu: Let nobody be despondent. The ‘No’ vote did not lose.

By Erdem Gül

CHP General Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called out to ‘No’ supporters who narrowly lost the referendum marked by a record level of objections, ‘Despite state oppression comparable to 12 September, the state of emergency and all the inequality of resources, half the people resisted and voted “No”. I congratulate the “No” voters. Let nobody be despondent. “No” did not lose. On the contrary, it won.’

Kılıçdaroğlu assessed the referendum results for Cumhuriyet:

In the face of the state or emergency, the money and civil service: Those who voted ‘No’ should most certainly not be despondent at the scenario to have emerged in the referendum. There is no result to warrant despondency. ‘No’ supporters fought in the face of all the state’s intimidation and all its resources. They were faced with state of emergency conditions. The state had money and civil servants. In the face of all this, half of society resisted and voted ‘No’.

Oppression comparable to 12 September: The poll over the 1982 constitution made under the 12 September military coup was held in an environment of oppression similar to today. At that time, ‘No’ supporters came under comparable state intimidation to that faced by ‘No’ supporters today. A similarly unequal referendum was held. But, a mere nine per cent of the people managed to vote ‘No’. This referendum, too, was held in an environment of intimidation every bit as great as the oppression in the 12 September military period. The same intimidation was applied to ‘No’ supporters. The business world was unable to speak and civil society was scared, but, despite all this, this time the people were not afraid as they went to the polls. Half of the people went to the ballot box and voted ‘No’. This is a very important result that will guide our subsequent political life.

Let nobody be despondent: I congratulate all citizens who voted ‘No’. The result obtained in the referendum and the ‘No’ vote have constituted a turning point for our democracy. With this result under these conditions the ‘No’ camp were the winners not the losers. So, ‘No’ supporters who voted in the face of all kinds of inequality and intimidation must not lose heart, but, on the contrary, must be more hopeful about the future.

Look at the big cities: When we look at the results, we see ‘No’ in the lead in nearly all the big cities. The ‘No’ vote swept into a significant lead in all the important big cities in which social and political relations are developed, democratic awareness is high and the great majority of the population is to be found. This is one of the most important results of the referendum.

Doubts cast: We respect the votes of all citizens, even if they voted ‘Yes’. Our issue is not with these votes, but the Supreme Election Council brought the legitimacy of the election into doubt with its resolution. The legitimacy of the referendum has been called into debate. The referendum results have been called into debate thanks to the Supreme Election Council, which passed a political resolution. The Supreme Election Council clearly took and implemented resolutions that were to the benefit of the ruling party and to the benefit of those wishing for a ‘Yes’ vote. We asked our people to go to the polls and vote ‘No’. It is our duty to protect their votes, too. We are now lodging all our objections and we must resolutely stamp out fraud and do our duty to protect the people’s votes. We are lodging our objections. It is our duty and moral obligation to protect the people’s votes by lodging our objections.