site.btaMRF Releases Declaration on Turkey Referendum

MRF Releases Declaration on Turkey Referendum

Sofia, April 28 (BTA) - The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) is closely following with concern the opinions, analyses and comments related to the referendum held in the Republic of Turkey on April 16, 2017, the party's press centre said Friday. It released a declaration after Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council broadcast the final results of the referendum on constitutional changes.

According to the MRF, the campaign was not conducted at equal conditions. Numerous violations of the rules were established both in the media and in the various propaganda events, as well as in the course of the referendum itself. The rules themselves were changed during the holding and accounting of the referendum.

In the opinion of the MRF, the result of 51.4 per cent 'for' the changes and 48.6 per cent 'against' shows that the Turkish society is split in two and the proposed constitutional amendments did not receive definitive support. The establishment of an authoritarian regime and a policy of violating freedom of speech and thinking was not supported categorically, the MRF said.

The first reactions of European politicians and institutions after the referendum show that Turkey is drifting away from EU membership, the MRF thinks. 'Twenty-five million Turkish voters, including a considerable portion of Bulgarian citizens living in Turkey, definitively said they will firmly stand behind the fundamental principles of the modern, democratic, worldly and powerful Republic of Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,' the MRF statement says.