Does ‘no’ justify the lies?: ‘No’ campaigners disseminate lies for votes against package

This campaign of black propaganda is a sad attempt to influence voters for the “no” front, which does not have any solid arguments against the constitutional amendment package. The “no” campaigners explain why they oppose the referendum by saying they are against a “cross on the Hagia Sophia,” or that they want to “make those who bagged the heads of Turkish soldiers in Iraq answer,” or because they want to “lower the retirement age” or “end the sale of land to foreigners,” none of which have any relation to the content of the constitutional amendment package, which includes changes to the structure of two judicial bodies, rewords a constitutional article on the protection of minors from sexual abuse, offers new striking rights to public servants and abolishes potential legal obstacles in the way of affirmative action for women.

The “no” campaigners have made other outlandish claims. In various materials, they claim that if “yes” votes win out, Anatolia will lose its Turkish quality and the country's Muslims will have to Christianize. These lies mainly target pensioners and underprivileged classes. The misinformation includes untruthful statements such as the claim that if a “yes” comes out of the referendum, salaries paid to pensioners will fall by a certain specific percentage.

Some “no” campaign posters even go one step further claiming that if a “yes” emerges from the ballot box, Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, will be erased from the pages of history and that the Republic of Turkey will fall. One province where such information is being spread is Muğla, where posters -- who printed them is unclear -- asking for “no” votes are posted along the city’s streets. Especially in rural Muğla, brochures distributed to citizens in support of “no” votes cite reasons such as general health insurance, retirement age or insurance premium payment days that have nothing to do with the government’s amendment package.

Mustafa Ali Türkan, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) mayor of Muğla’s Fethiye district, said efforts to defame the referendum have been intensifying as the referendum day nears. Türkan, who says that the AK Party is working in the field campaigning for “yes” votes, said he has also seen some of these brochures. “In the referendum, we are voting on a 26-article constitutional amendment package. Some circles are trying to mislead the public by making concerns they created in their own heads seem real.”

Muğla AK Party branch leader Gültekin Akça confirms that these efforts are being conducted across the province, saying they have received many complaints.

‘No’ front cooks up more lies

Meanwhile, reports also suggest that the “no” front is actually preparing, as a tactic, to claim that the referendum was rigged if the outcome they do not want results. In fact, they have already started their efforts. Necati Doğru, a journalist of the Sözcü newspaper, warned in his column yesterday that the referendum might be fixed.

Doğru claimed that the government party will use software to interfere with the referendum results. Vatan daily’s Can Ataklı wrote in a similar vein in his article titled “The Supreme Election Board [YSK] has to address the public’s worries.” He wrote: “There are few days left before the referendum, but a concern felt by a majority of the public has still not been addressed. Because a great majority seriously believes that the referendum will be rigged. Ask any citizen and you will understand this; the response you will get will be, ‘I won’t say how I will vote, but the yeses will win.’ Because a majority, particularly of urban voters, believe that elections are electronically rigged. Nobody has so far proven this, nobody has a convincing document, but this is the overwhelming sentiment.”

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Adana deputy Tacidar Seyhan in a recent statement expressed the same worries, saying there were serious discussions in the public about the software used by the YSK and its trustworthiness. “The public overwhelmingly believes that the software will be tampered with by outside parties. There are concerns that the software will be programmed to yield a 52 percent or a 53 percent ‘yes,’ and that some who do not vote will be shown to have done so, with their empty ballot boxes being moved to the ‘yes’ box. If practically possible, the YSK should have the software examined and take measures to address these concerns.”