Rejection from Council of State for CHP

The Council of State, deeming that the Supreme Election Council (SEC)’s decision was not a procedure that may form the subject-matter of administrative proceedings, rejected the application for review of the SEC’s decision. The Council of State said regarding the CHP’s objection, ‘It has been ruled that the rendering of a decision is not warranted.’

The CHP had brought proceedings before the Council of State with the application for a stay of the SEC’s result finalising procedure until the legal stages of its objections to the results of the referendum had been concluded. It had also applied for annulment of the SEC’s procedure whereby unstamped voting slips were deemed to be valid. The application had been made by the CHP’s lawyer, Atilla Kaya.

WE ARE ALSO STANDING UP FOR THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF THOSE WHO VOTED ‘YES’

Atilla Kaya, stating that a coup had been staged at the hands of the ruling party and the SEC against the will and decision of the people in the referendum, said, ‘Unfortunately, the SEK, a constitutional institution of the Republic of Turkey and the highest organ of judicial oversight, also finds inclusion in this statement. We here, as the CHP, state emphatically that we are standing up for 49 million votes. We are standing up for the legal rights, not only of those who voted ‘no’, but also of those who voted ‘yes’. I wish to state that we are standing up with the same sensitivity for our 25 million citizens who voted ‘yes’ and the 24 million who voted ‘no’. Just as we are standing up for these of our citizens, we are also standing up for the rights and legal rights of our 80 million citizens.’

THE CHP VOICED ITS REACTION

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ had said regarding the CHP’s application, ‘The Constitutional Court and the Council of State lack jurisdiction over the matter.’ The CHP, conversely, reacted by saying that the Minister of Justice, in stating an opinion on an application that is under examination, ‘Blatantly gave an instruction to the judiciary.’