Constitutional referendum in Turkey 2010

2010 referendum

 %

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

57.93

42.07

Yes

No

Results in circles. Yes (green); No (red)

At the constitutional referendum in Turkey on September 12, 2010, voters voted on numerous changes to the country's constitution, which has been in force since 1982 . The most comprehensive constitutional reform to date included strengthening equality , strengthening the rights of trade unions and restricting the rights of the Turkish military . The judicial reform, which is intended to strengthen the rights of the government and parliament , was particularly controversial . The majority of the opposition rejected all constitutional amendments and viewed the referendum as a vote on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . In the popular referendum, which received international attention, 57.9% of voters finally voted for the constitutional amendments.

initial situation

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

The currently valid constitution of Turkey was implemented by the military government after the military coup in 1980 and passed in a referendum in 1982 . Despite the democratic legitimacy, the constitution was considered "anti-democratic". After the end of military rule, various constitutional amendments were carried out, for example an electoral reform was passed in a referendum in 2007 . Further efforts to reform the constitution were abandoned in 2008 as a result of the dispute over the headscarf ban , although these were announced by the ruling AKP party when it was re-elected in 2007. During the accession negotiations between Turkey and the European Union , additional reform steps were called for by the European Union .

In the spring of 2010, Prime Minister Erdoğan aimed for another constitutional reform, which, in addition to a reform of the judiciary, should also include strengthening basic rights and changing party law . The aim was to adapt the Turkish constitution to the norms of European democracy. After the government and opposition could not agree on a common line on constitutional reform, the National Assembly of Turkey decided in April and May 2010 on a draft of the conservative Islamic government, which provided for constitutional changes in 27 points. The parliament passed the changes with the votes of the AKP, but a two-thirds majority for the immediate implementation of the constitutional reform was missed. A referendum to confirm the parliamentary resolution was therefore necessary. September 12, 2010, the 30th anniversary of the military coup, was set as the date for the referendum.

controversy

The largest opposition party, the CHP , appealed to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Turkey about the constitutional reform , but only managed to delete a proposal for amendment that concerned the election of judges. The remaining 26 articles could be put to a vote.

Prime Minister Erdoğan called for approval in the vote. With the constitutional reform, Turkey will become more democratic. The European Union described the reform proposals as a “step in the right direction”.

Most opposition parties, on the other hand, called on the almost 50 million eligible voters to reject the constitutional amendments and viewed the referendum as a vote on the Erdoğan government, which will run for re-election in 2011. The Kemalist CHP accused the government of wanting to usurp power in the state and endanger the independence of the judiciary. The Kurdish party BDP recommended that its supporters boycott the vote because it sees too little attention given to the interests of the Kurds.

European-minded liberals like the writer Orhan Pamuk campaigned for approval of the most comprehensive constitutional changes since 1982, but at the same time called for a fundamental revision of the constitution. Numerous intellectuals, citizens' groups, associations and foundations called for a non-party constituent assembly to be called .

The Turkish judge and former president of the professional association of Turkish judges and prosecutors, Emine Ülker Tarhan , joined the opposition parties' criticism of the constitutional referendum.

Adopted constitutional changes

Fundamental rights

The rights of women, children, pensioners and the disabled are strengthened. The state recognizes a special duty of care towards children. Civil servants are given the right to join a union. Both freedom of movement and the protection of personal data are strengthened. By setting up the office of an ombudsman , citizens receive an instrument to defend themselves against illegal actions and arbitrary state decisions.

Party law

Party bans are made more difficult. A party ban can no longer be initiated by the public prosecutor's office, as Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya attempted against the AKP in 2008 , but must be carried out by a parliamentary commission.

Judicial reform

The number of judges at the Constitutional Court will be increased from the current 11 to 17, while their term of office will be limited to twelve years. Three of the judges are no longer to be appointed by the President of the Republic , but by Parliament. The High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors is also to be increased from currently 7 to 22 members. In addition to its previous tasks, the council will monitor the work of judges and public prosecutors to ensure that they comply with the law.

Turkish citizens are granted the right to appeal to the constitutional court (right of individual complaint ).

Military affairs

The political immunity for members of the military junta from 1980 is set aside. The rights of the military courts are restricted. In this way, high-ranking generals can also be convicted in civil courts. Actions against the security of the state, the constitution and the functioning of the constitutional order of criminal prosecution are no longer heard in military courts.

Results

• 

  Results of the constitutional referendum in the 81 provinces.
  green: agreement; red: rejection.

• 

  Distribution of yes votes in percent in the 81 provinces.

• 

  Voter turnout.

The outcome of the referendum was still uncertain immediately before election day. While the government presented poll results that assumed a 60% approval rating, the opponents were just ahead in other polls.

Of the registered 49,446,369 voters, around 77% went to the vote. According to the preliminary final result, 57.9% of the votes cast were in favor of constitutional reform. The constitutional amendments were adopted in around three quarters of all 81 provinces. Provinces that voted no are concentrated along the Mediterranean coast and eastern Thrace .

The highest percentage approval came from the province of Agri with 96% . Tunceli is at the other end with only 19% approval. In some Kurdish provinces in the southeast, many voters followed the BDP's call for a boycott. The turnout in Hakkâri was only 7%, in Şırnak 22%, Diyarbakır 35%, Batman 40% and Mardin 43%.

vote	be right	Share of votes
Yes	21,693,343	57.93%
No	15,796,905	42.07%

Reactions

Prime Minister Erdoğan described the outcome of the referendum as a historic step in which democracy was the winner. International observers also praised the approval of the constitutional reform. The EU Commissioner for Enlargement Štefan Füle once again described the vote as a step in the right direction and called for the swift implementation of the constitutional amendments. Immediately before the vote, the foreign ministers of the EU member states criticized the standstill in accession negotiations with Turkey. For US President Barack Obama , the high voter turnout is a “sign of the vitality of Turkish democracy”.

The opposition expressed its disappointment with the result, but declared that it recognized it. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu , the chairman of the CHP, criticized the pressure exerted on the voters by the government in the run-up to the vote and warned that the democratization process would be made more difficult if the AKP continued its confrontational course. The Kurdish party BDP was pleased that its supporters had followed the call not to take part in the referendum.

Web links

• Constitutional Amendment Text (Turkish)
• The 2010 constitutional reform . Dossier of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (PDF; 158 kB)
• Election results broken down by provinces and districts . Also contains the results of the last local elections of 2009 for comparison. (Turkish)
• Constitutional referendum in Turkey: farewell to the military constitution

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Die Welt : Clear majority of Turks for constitutional reform , September 12, 2010.
2. ^ Ö1 : Constitutional referendum divides Turkey , 10 September 2010.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Deutschlandfunk : Tug-of-war over a new constitution , March 23, 2010.
4. ↑ Die Presse : Turkey wants to adapt constitution to EU norms , March 1, 2010.
5. ↑ Die Presse : Turkish people decide on constitutional reform , May 7, 2010.
6. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung : Constitutional reform stopped , July 7, 2010.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Der Tagesspiegel : Constitutional reform divides the country , August 14, 2010.
8. ↑ Handelsblatt : Erdogan is fighting for his reforms , September 10, 2010.
9. ^ Basler Zeitung : Many old bills and a new constitution , September 9, 2010.
10. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung : Settlement Day , September 9, 2010.
11. ↑ Turkish Justice. Emine Ülker Tarhan: I don't want to be a government puppet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, April 11, 2011. Accessed February 7, 2012
12. ↑ tagesschau.de : Background: Planned changes to the Turkish constitution ( Memento from September 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), September 12, 2010.
13. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel : Constitutional referendum: Examination for Erdogan , September 6, 2010.
14. ↑ Results of the High Election Commission ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 13, 2010. 
15. ↑ radical : BDP'nin boykotu Güneydoğu'da tuttu 12 September 2010 at
16. ↑ Radikal : Sandıktan anayasa değişikliğine 'evet' çıktı , September 12, 2010
17. ↑ ^{a b} Der Standard : Constitutional reform welcomed internationally , September 13, 2010.
18. ↑ stern.de : Fear of the Turkish cul-de-sac , September 11, 2010 ( Memento from September 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ).
19. ↑ Hürriyet : Turkish opposition decries results but vows to respect people's will ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , September 13, 2010.
20. ↑ Hürriyet : Turkey's Kurds happy with referendum results ( Memento of the original from September 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , September 12, 2010 ,.