Election campaigns during the constitutional referendum in Turkey 2017

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at a “yes” campaign appearance in Kahramanmaraş ( Turkey ) on February 17, 2017

Nationalist Movement Party parliamentary group assembly on February 7, 2017

During the constitutional referendum in Turkey in April 2017 , there were many campaigns and appearances in Turkey. Few campaigns and appearances were allowed abroad, while many were banned.

Election campaigns

Attitude of the parties

Attitude of the parties to the referendum
choice	Political party			Chair	Alignment
Yes		ACP	Justice and Recovery Party	Binali Yıldırım	Islamic - conservative , neo-Ottoman
		MHP (partly)	Nationalist Movement Party	Devlet Bahçeli	right-wing extremist , nationalist
		BBP (partly)	Great Unity Party	Mustafa Destici	right-wing extremist, Islamist
		HÜDA PAR	Party of the Free Cause	Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu	Islamist, pro- Kurdish
No		CHP	Republican People's Party	Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu	Kemalist , social democratic
		MHP (partly)	Nationalist Movement Party	Devlet Bahçeli	right-wing extremist , nationalist
		HDP	Democratic Party of the Peoples	Selahattin Demirtaş / Figen Yüksekdağ	democratic-socialist , pro-Kurdish
		SAADET	Bliss party	Karamollaoğlu Temple	Islamist, conservative
		BBP (partly)	Great Unity Party	Mustafa Destici	right-wing extremist, Islamist
		Vatan	Fatherland Party	Dogu Perinçek	left nationalist , Kemalist
		HAK-PAR	Party for Law and Freedoms	Refik Karakoç	pro-kurdish
		HKP	People's Liberation Party	Nurullah Ankut	Communist
		DP	Democratic Party	Gültekin Uysal	conservative, economically liberal
		CPM	Communist Party	collective leadership	Communist
		DSP	Democratic Left Party	Önder Aksakal	social democratic, Kemalist
		LDP	Liberal Democratic Party	Gültekin Tırpancı	liberal
		Millet	Nations party	Aykut Edibali	nationalist
		Yeşil Sol	Green Left Party	Eylem Tuncaelli / Naci Sönmez	green
		HEPAR	Party for Law and Equality	Yücel Savaş	nationalist
		ÖDP	Party of Freedom and Solidarity	collective leadership	socialist
		EMEP	Party of labor	Selma Gurkan	Communist
		ANAP	Motherland Party	İbrahim Çelebi	conservative, economically liberal
		SEP	Socialist Labor Party	Güneş Gümüş	Marxist
		DBP	Democratic Party of Regions	Emine Ayna	pro-kurdish
		e-parti	Electronic Democracy Party	Emrehan Halıcı	Single Purpose Party, "Direct Democracy"
		DYP	Right Path Party	Çetin Özaçıkgöz	conservative
Neutral		BTP	Independent Turkey Party	Haydar Bas	nationalist, Kemalist

"Yes" campaigns

Linden tea for a "yes"

Campaign logo and slogan “Our decision is yes” from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came out almost unanimously for a constitutional amendment, but there were also voices here that (quietly) rose against Erdoğan's plans. Two prominent ones were the previous President Abdullah Gül and the previous Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu . These two close party friends of Erdoğan held back during the entire election campaign, which observers regarded as a quiet “no”. Davutoğlu had resigned as party leader in advance (May 22, 2016 / special party conference), which was considered a lost power struggle against Erdoğan and his plans.

The right-wing extremist party of the Nationalist Movement (MHP), which made the vote possible in the first place, was deeply torn. Party leader Bahçeli , who previously saw himself as a strong opposition to Erdoğan, and his followers campaigned for a “yes”, but this met with less and less enthusiasm in the party base as the election campaign lasted. High-ranking party members were also expelled from the party during the election campaign because they opposed Bahceli. According to surveys, the majority of the voters of the MHP were against a change to the constitution, around 70 percent.

"No" campaigns

Campaign slogan and logo "No to the presidential system"

“No” campaign stand in Hanover .

The two opposition parties that stood united against Erdoğan and his plans for Turkish constitutional reform were the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the People's Democratic Party (HDP). This affected both politicians and voters. Many high-ranking party members campaigned for a “no” throughout Turkey. However, opponents tried again and again to suppress these efforts by force. The Turkish police were also partly involved here.

In April 2017, OSCE election campaign observers from Turkey reported that the No camp was being intimidated and hindered in some cases by the media and politically, which made it difficult for the No campaign to campaign adequately. In addition, numerous opposition politicians and journalists who were neutral or who argued against the Turkish government were imprisoned. In the first three weeks of March, 17 television stations (including the state TRT) gave the AKP and the presidential office 470 hours of airtime, but the largest opposition party, the CHP, only gave 45 and the HDP even 0 (statistics from the highest radio and broadcasting council in Turkey). The dates of the news broadcasts from March 1st to 10th also show a big difference between the camps and the reporting: The representatives of the presidential office and the AKP were allotted 136 hours, the CHP 17 hours and the HDP 33 minutes. CHP boss Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu addressed these conditions in an interview with the state broadcaster TRT and particularly complained about the situation of TRT and its proximity to Erdoğan. This was very well received in Turkey and had the consequence that four days later the HDP (represented by Osman Baydemir ) was allowed to make a nine-minute statement on the referendum on state television .

Campaign appearances

In addition to the 55 million eligible voters in Turkey, around 3 million citizens living in over 50 countries were called to take part in the referendum (see also foreign votes in the 2014 presidential election ). Participation via postal voting was not provided for in Turkish electoral law. The approximately 1.4 million Turks living in Germany who were entered in the electoral roll could (as was officially confirmed by the Federal Government on March 15, 2017) between March 27 and April 9, 2017 in the 13 consular representations of the Vote Turkey in Germany.

The provisions of Act No. 3376 and the General Electoral Act (Act No. 298) applied to votes in connection with constitutional referenda. Article 50 (1) of Law No. 298 forbids election propaganda (seçim propagandası) on, among other things, general streets, as well as in prayer houses and service buildings . In addition, according to Art. 94 / A, Paragraph 5 of Act No. 298, no election propaganda was allowed to be carried out abroad or in diplomatic missions and according to Art. 94 / E, Paragraph 6 of Act No. 298 at border crossings . Both Art. 94 / A and Art. 94 / E of Law No. 298 were added in 2008.

There were controversial debates about election campaign appearances by Turkish politicians in several European countries.

Denmark

On March 12, 2017, the Danish government temporarily canceled a planned meeting in its own country that was planned with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for March 19 and 20, 2017. Turkish residents would also have been present.

Germany

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu criticizes the refusals and bans for campaign appearances in Germany.

While the then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was able to promote the referendum of 2010 in his favor despite criticism, Turkish election campaign events in 2017 were highly controversial and mostly undesirable.

In connection with the canceled appearance of the Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ , a bomb threat was received against the town hall of Gaggenau after representatives of several parties, for example Julia Klöckner (CDU), Wolfgang Bosbach (CDU), Jürgen Hardt (CDU), Andreas Scheuer (CSU) ), Bernd Riexinger (Die Linke), Christian Lindner (FDP) and Alexander Gauland (AfD) calls for a ban by the federal government had become loud.

On March 8, 2017, the planned appearance of the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at two locations in Hamburg was canceled for security reasons. The Foreign Minister then spoke to about 350 visitors from the balcony of the Consulate General in Hamburg-Uhlenhorst, accompanied by 250 counter-demonstrators and 850 emergency services.

Attitude of the Federal Government and individual politicians

The administrations of several municipalities banned some planned election campaign appearances due to safety concerns (e.g. not guaranteed fire protection ), which was interpreted as an excuse by parts of the supporters of the referendum.

Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that the decision rests with the responsible municipalities and does not mean any restriction of freedom of expression. Some German commentators interpreted Merkel's position as weakness.

Federal politicians of the Union, the SPD (including Justice Minister Heiko Maas and SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Oppermann ) and the Greens (including Claudia Roth ) and u. a. the CDU European politician Elmar Brok shared Merkel's line; they spoke out against a policy of prohibition and mentioned the fundamental right to freedom of expression . The CSU interior expert Hans-Peter Uhl called for a ban on speaking for Turkish government members and justified this by saying that it was a matter of making it clear "that we in Germany disapprove of this path that Turkey is now taking and in no way support it". Chancellery Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) emphasized in mid-March: "The fact that the federal government has not yet exhausted its options under international law is not a free ticket for the future," but an entry ban is the last resort . On February 18, 2017, the Turkish Prime Minister Yıldırım appeared as a speaker in the Arena Oberhausen ; The organizer was the pro-government Union of European-Turkish Democrats (UETD). The counter-initiative invited Turkish opposition politicians to their events.

Reactions from state politicians

It remained with " phantom bans " and threats, which were announced by the Prime Ministers of Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt , in order to forbid public appearances by Turkish electoral campaigners, even though no events or appearances by Turkish speakers were planned in either of the two federal states. The Prime Minister of the Saarland, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU), who is in the election campaign , announced that she would “seize all opportunities to ban such appearances on Saarland soil”. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff (CDU) declared President Erdoğan to be an undesirable person in his state.

Judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court

The question was raised from different sides whether members of the current Turkish government resp. Foreign representatives of any nationality and any rank can be banned from campaigning in Germany according to the legal possibilities while maintaining democratic standards. According to the Federal Constitutional Court (ruling of March 8, 2017), such a ban can be obtained by the federal government after a constitutional complaint has been rejected :

“It is true that heads of state and members of foreign governments are not entitled to enter the federal territory and exercise official functions in Germany either under the Basic Law or under a general rule of international law . This requires the consent of the federal government, which is responsible for foreign affairs and such a decision. Insofar as foreign heads of state or members of foreign governments appear in an official capacity and with recourse to their official authority in Germany, they cannot invoke fundamental rights . If consent was refused, it would not be a decision by a German sovereign against a foreign citizen, but a decision in the field of foreign policy, in which the German and Turkish governments are based on the principle of the sovereign equality of states to encounter."

- Order of the Federal Constitutional Court of March 8, 2017

Turkish Government's attitude

In return, the Turkish Republic has since banned foreign election campaign events of any kind on Turkish soil. There is no ban for foreign politicians to appear in Turkey. The government of Turkey indirectly followed the words of Cem Özdemir (Greens), who called for "equal rights for all".

The Turkish ruling party AKP decided on April 16 to refrain from holding election campaigns and any informational events in Germany. President Erdoğan was not directly involved in this decision; As head of state, he may not be a member of a political party.

Bozdağ sharply criticized the cancellation of his appearance in Gaggenau at the beginning of March 2017: "The action against us is a fascist approach and one that violates democratic values. It tramples on the German constitution and the human rights treaties to which Germany is bound. ”President Erdoğan himself went even further, speaking of“ Nazi practices ” in a speech given in Istanbul to the pro-government women's association Kadem and to German leaders adroitly exclaimed: "Your practices make no difference to the Nazi practices of the past." Germany has nothing to do with democracy. This was rejected by the German public and politicians as unacceptable, especially to a NATO partner. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said that one should "grant freedom of speech according to the law and with a cool head". However, “some Turkish politicians” could forfeit this right with such comparisons. In mid-March Erdoğan repeated his statement, this time personally addressing the Chancellor. Among other things, she referred to a verbal note in which the federal government had clearly stated that appearances by Turkish politicians in Germany could only take place if they were based on the principles of the Basic Law. Otherwise, the federal government reserves the right to take all necessary measures, including a review of the approval given with this note. On March 21, 2017, the UETD canceled all events with ministerial participation in Germany until the referendum.

France

Deniz Baykal's “No” gig tour in France

After the denial of his landing permit in the Netherlands, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu performed an appearance at a meeting of the Union of European-Turkish Democrats in Metz on March 11, 2017 , which, unlike in the Netherlands, was approved by the responsible French authorities. In front of 800 participants, he called the Netherlands the “capital of fascism”.

Netherlands

Protests by Turks in front of the Dutch consulate in Istanbul

In March 2017 - in the run-up to the Dutch parliamentary elections on March 15, 2017 - the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told the Turkish government that appearances in the referendum on the constitution of Turkey were undesirable in the Netherlands and that the public space was generally not a place for the Other countries are campaigning.

Rotterdam performance crisis from March 11th

Mounted police in front of the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam during the protest

Following threats, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was withdrawn from landing in the Netherlands. When the Turkish family minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya drove from Düsseldorf to Rotterdam on the same day , the police stopped the company car and escorted it to the German-Dutch border, from where she had entered as an “undesirable foreigner”. The minister was denied access to the Turkish consulate because of the announced but officially prohibited election campaign.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry then called the Dutch Chargé d'Affaires to Ankara and informed him that a return of the Dutch ambassador, who was not in Turkey at the time, was undesirable. Shortly afterwards, the diplomatic missions of the Netherlands in Turkey were cordoned off.

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the Dutch government and its people as National Socialists and fascists because of their behavior and threatened far-reaching political consequences in all areas of relations, such as landing bans for Dutch aircraft in Turkey. Both the insults and the threat policy were rejected by Prime Minister Rutte. Erdoğan's statements are "inappropriate" and "crazy".

Austria

On March 5, 2017, Austria's Federal Chancellor Christian Kern spoke out in favor of an EU-wide ban on election campaign appearances by Turkish politicians. He said: “A common EU approach to prevent such campaign appearances would make sense. So that individual countries like Germany, in which appearances are prohibited, come under pressure from Turkey. ”With regard to the planned constitutional amendment, Kern criticized that“ the introduction of a presidential system would further weaken the rule of law in Turkey, limit the separation of powers and the values of the Europeans Union would contradict ”. Representatives of the Turkish government and the AKP argued against this, such as the AKP politician Mustafa Yeneroğlu .

Sweden

An appearance planned for March 12, 2017 by AKP Vice Chairman Mehdi Eker in Stockholm has been canceled. The lease for the conference room had been canceled.

Switzerland

A hotel in Opfikon canceled Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu's scheduled appearance on March 12, 2017 due to security concerns. The federal government rejected the Zurich cantonal government's request to ban the appearance.

The AKP functionary Hursit Yildirim planned to perform in Zurich, where a room was rented for an alleged family celebration, but the city property management, after knowing the background, prevented the performance. A performance planned in Spreitenbach was forbidden by the Aargau police. After that, a non-public appearance took place in Opfikon at the Turkish business association MÜSİAD .

Headline "Vote 'No' to Erdoğan's dictatorship!"

On March 13, 2017, the headline of the Swiss daily Blick with the highest circulation with the voting recommendation "Erdoğan'ın diktatörlüğüne HAYIR oyu kullanın!"

Web links

Commons : “Yes” election campaigns during the constitutional referendum in Turkey 2017 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : “No” election campaigns during the constitutional referendum in Turkey 2017 - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ HÜDA PAR referandumda 'Evet' diyecek. In: Sabah. Retrieved March 4, 2017 .

↑ Erdogan's referendum puts ultra-nationalists before an acid test. In: moritz.gottsauner-wolf. Retrieved March 25, 2017 .

↑ AKAM'ın kapsamlı son referandum anketi. (No longer available online.) In: ZERnews.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017 ; Retrieved March 25, 2017 . 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.

↑ Polis HDP'nin 'Hayır' otobüsüne el koydu - March 20, 2017 - Siyasi Haber. In: siyasihaber3.org. Retrieved March 25, 2017 (Turkish).

↑ OSCE criticism: No camp in Turkey is hindered. In: Tagesschau Online , April 13, 2017

↑ Hardly any TV airtime for opposition before the Turkey referendum. In: Deutsche Welle. Retrieved April 13, 2017 .

↑ HDP 'inanamadı': Parti sözcüsü Baydemir bu akşam TRT yayınında - Diken. In: Diken. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017 .

↑ HDP 'inanamadı': Parti sözcüsü Baydemir bu akşam TRT yayınında. In: Diken. April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017 .

↑ Güncel Haber: Hdp Osman Baydemir - TRT Konuşması - 11 Nisan 2017. April 11, 2017, accessed on April 13, 2017 .

↑ Cf. in particular VerfG, judgment of May 29, 2008, E. 2008/33, K. 2008/113, Official Journal No. 26927 of July 5, 2008 ( online ).

↑ In the realm of shadows . Der Spiegel 11/2017, March 11, 2017, pp. 12–19, here p. 18; ARD, Tagesschau from March 15, 2017 . For the list of international voting locations and periods, see Anayasa Değişikliği Halkoylamasında Sandık Kurulacak Temsilcilikler, Oy Verme Tarihleri ve Seçim Yapılacak Yerlerin Adresleri. High Electoral Committee (PDF).

↑ Anayasa Değişikliklerin Halkoyuna Sunulması Hakkında Kanun (Law on Submitting Constitutional Amendments to Referendum ); Law No. 3376 of May 23, 1987, Official Gazette No. 19473 of May 28, 1987.

↑ Seçimlerin Temel Hükümleri ve Seçmen Kütükleri Hakkında Kanun (Law on the general election principles and electoral rolls); Law No. 298 of April 26, 1961, Official Gazette No. 10796 of May 2, 1961.

↑ Inserted by Art. 10 of Law No. 5749 of March 13, 2008, Official Gazette No. 26824 / Mükerrer of March 22, 2008.

↑ Denmark wants to postpone Yildirim's visit. In: Welt.de , March 12, 2017.

↑ Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity". Erdogan's speech in Cologne in full. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010, accessed April 2, 2017 .

^ Rüdiger Soldt: The decision maker. In: faz.net , March 3, 2017

↑ Politicians demand a ban on Erdoğan's appearance in Germany. In: faz.net , March 3, 2017

↑ Turkey summons a German ambassador. In: zeit.de , March 2, 2017.

^ Demand for a ban on Erdogan's appearance in Germany. In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger , February 23, 2017

↑ Erdogan speaks of "Nazi practices". In: Deutschlandfunk , March 5, 2017

↑ Politicians demand a ban on Erdoğan's appearance in Germany. In: Zeit online , March 1, 2017.

↑ The appearance of the Turkish Foreign Minister in Hamburg canceled. In: Welt.de , March 8, 2017.

^ Rejections in Gaggenau and Cologne - Turkish ministers unloaded: Merkel defends municipalities. In: Münchner Merkur . March 3, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017 .

^ Christian Rothenberg: Dispute with Turkey: Merkel is too diplomatic. In: n-tv . March 7, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017 .

↑ "Last resort" entry ban: German government threatens Turkish politicians. In: n-tv , March 14, 2017, accessed on the same day

^ Report: Turkish Prime Minister appears at the event in Oberhausen. ( Memento of the original from March 15, 2017 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. In: Zeit Online , February 14, 2017 @1@ 2

↑ FAZ.net February 18, 2017: Yildirim in Oberhausen: “Advertising campaign for the dictatorship”.

↑ Thomas Gutschker, Lydia Rosenfelder: Hayir - No! In: FAZ.net . March 12, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017 .

↑ Saarland forbids campaign appearances by foreign politicians. As the first federal state. FAZ , March 14, 2017, accessed on April 2, 2017 .

↑ Haseloff: Turkish President Erdogan not a welcome guest. After campaign appearances. (No longer available online.) In: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk . March 16, 2017, archived from the original on April 2, 2017 ; Retrieved April 2, 2017 . 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.

^ Unsuccessful constitutional complaint against the appearance of the Turkish Prime Minister in Germany ; Press release No. 16/2017 of March 10, 2017. Federal Constitutional Court, accessed on March 14, 2017

↑ When foreign politicians want to appear in Turkey. In: The world . March 13, 2017, accessed April 2, 2017 .

↑ Erdogan's party refrains from campaigning in Germany. In: The world . March 21, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017 .

↑ Oppermann promotes tolerance. In: Spiegel online , March 4, 2017

↑ Turkish minister is campaigning in Germany. In: N-tv , March 2, 2017.

↑ Controversy over Erdogan's Nazi comparison: "If I want, I'll come to Germany". In: Der Tagesspiegel , March 5, 2017.

↑ Response to Erdogan's Nazi comparison: "Incredible" - "monstrous". In: Tagesschau , March 5, 2017.

↑ Turkey is in control. In: Zeit Online. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017 .

↑ Merkel threatens Erdogan: Not every taboo is allowed to fall. ( Memento of the original from March 21, 2017 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. In: Zeit online , May 20, 2017 @1@ 2

↑ Konrad Fischer: "No more appearances by Turkish ministers in Germany". In: Wirtschaftswoche , March 21, 2017.

↑ Turkish Foreign Minister to appear in France. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten , March 11, 2017.

^ Advertisement for constitutional reform: Netherlands declare Turkish election campaign undesirable. In: FAZ.net , March 4, 2017.

^ An unprecedented diplomatic incident. In: Welt.de , March 11, 2017.

↑ Dutch embassy in Turkey closed. In: Welt.de , March 11, 2017.

↑ Police stop Turkish minister in Rotterdam. In: sueddeutsche.de. March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017 .

↑ Erdogan insults the Dutch as Nazis and fascists. In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten.de , March 12, 2017;

↑ Rutte: "That goes too far". ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2017 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. In: ZDF Today , March 12, 2017 @1@ 2