Amberin Zaman writes: Allegations of fraud in Turkey’s April 16 referendum show no signs of abating despite government denials that any irregularity occurred.
Today, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) petitioned the Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) for the vote on boosting the powers of the presidency to be annulled.
CHP Deputy Chairman Bulent Tezcan, who lodged the appeal, called the referendum “organized vote theft.” He was referring in particular to the board’s controversial last-minute decision to breach its own rules and accept ballots without official seals. The opposition charges it did so to clear the path for cheating. The amendments squeaked through with a razor-thin margin at 51%.
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