Erdogan calls HDP voters to say 'yes' in referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday appealed to the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voters to say yes in an upcoming referendum on a bill that will give him unprecedented powers.

The constitutional reform provides Erdogan with powers like dissolving the parliament, declaring a state of emergency, issuing decrees, and forming a cabinet as well as appointing top judicial, bureaucratic, and military officials without a parliamentary vote of confidence.

“I call on my brothers who have their hearts set on the AKP, MHP, and CHP. I call upon all of you, even my brothers who are with the HDP, let us become whole in unity,” Erdogan said.

State TV and TRT carried The Turkish president’s remarks during a public speech in the Kurdish city of Elazig.

Erdogan’s call for support from the mostly Kurdish voters came as the HDP began leading a no campaign against turning his constitutionally ceremonial office into an executive one.

The Erdogan-founded, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) passed the bill with help from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leadership in January.

A recent survey conducted in over 16 Kurdish-majority provinces released on Friday revealed that 89 percent of HDP voters would say no in the referendum set to take place in April.

Along with HDP, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) representing the Kemalist establishment vigorously oppose giving up the parliamentary system of governance for an executive presidency.

Of all the Kurdish voters, the amount of support Erdogan could garner was 25 percent if the referendum was held this Sunday, according to a Diyarbakir-based research center.

“We are one nation. With the Turks, Kurds, the Laz, Zazas, Romanis, and Bosnians, we are one nation,” declared Erdogan naming several ethnic groups living in Turkey.

Last week, Erdogan accused no-voters of siding with the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), saying the armed group was behind the campaign against his rule.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany