By Nilay Kar Onum
ANKARA
The Turkish prime minister on Friday blasted the main opposition party’s appeal to suspend the official referendum results, saying “nobody has right to change the decision of the people”.
In an exclusive interview with BBC's HARDtalk program, Binali Yildirim said: “While the people have accepted a certain thing, the main opposition party does not accept it.
"Nobody has the right to overturn the decision made by the people in a court.”
His remarks came after the Republican People's Party (CHP) approached the Council of State, urging the court to suspend the official referendum results.
On Thursday, the Supreme Election Board (YSK) released a decision explaining the reason for rejecting petitions submitted by three political parties to cancel Turkey's April 16 constitutional referendum.
The board in a statement defended its decision to accept unstamped ballot papers before the boxes were closed for vote counting, saying it had been objective, and in line with the principle of equality and impartiality.
“Neither the European Court of Human Rights, nor the Constitutional Court nor any other can change this decision of the people. The decision of the millions can only be changed by the people again. I think these efforts are all in vain,” Yildirim said.
'Brutal' criticisms
“My recommendation is that the main opposition party should accept the national will and work harder for the next elections. So they can win people’s favor,” he added.
Binali Yildirim described the dictatorship criticisms as quite "brutal".
“What is a dictatorship? Would you hold elections, when there is a dictatorship? Would you have political parties? Would people vote in a dictatorship? I really cannot agree with these claims,” he said.
“Approximately 50 million people went to the ballot box, voted and made a choice. 48 percent or 24 million said ‘No’. And more than 25 million people said ‘Yes’. There is difference of 1.4 million.
“In democracies, you need to respect the decision. So this margin shouldn’t be a problem,” he added.
The prime minister underlined the importance of winning the "hearts" of those who voted "No".
“We need to prevent any division in the society and we really need to look at why those people said ‘No’ and we really should win their hearts. We will definitely work on it.”
'No' to the European Union
Yildirim also spoke of criticisms over the extension of the state of emergency and measures taken across the country after the July 15 coup attempt, which left 249 martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
“We want a bit of empathy. Turkey is in a difficult region. We are trying to accommodate millions of people, who had to escape for their lives from Syria and from Iraq. We fight against Daesh, the PKK and FETO [Fetullah Terror Organization]. So, in a difficult geography, we are trying to instil peace around the world. We are trying to make our democracy stand and ensure the security of Europe.”
Ankara has said FETO is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
“Europe and other countries should be thankful to us. They should encourage us,” he said. “But, rather they are actually quite cruelly creating a picture as if we are the ones who actually did this coup.
“I think this is unfair and saddens us. Turkish people do not deserve this.”
In response to a question on what would Turkish people vote for a referendum on Turkey joining to the European Union he said:
“If you put this question to the people today, I believe they would give an unfaltering ‘No’ vote to the European Union.
“Because some European countries were openly taking sides in this referendum campaign and giving active support to the ‘No’ campaign. With whom? With the separatist organizations. And they prevented the ‘Yes’ campaign. The European countries continue to shake a finger at us, kind of threaten us. Our nation doesn’t accept this.
“That’s why public opinion is not very positive when it comes to the European Union at the moment,” he explained.
Praise for Trump administration
Yildirim welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s quick response in Syria following the chemical weapon attack in the country's northern town of Khan Sheikhun, which killed over 70 people including children.
“The Trump administration responded quickly. I think it is a positive development," he said. “This action of the Trump administration relieved the people and the region.”
However, he called on the U.S. to take more responsibility along with Russia, Turkey, Iran and countries in the region to find a solution to the Syrian crisis. “Otherwise, we will delay the solution and more people will get hurt,” he said.
In response to a question if he would become vice president in the presidential system, Yildirim said: “I have no long-term plan in my life. Let’s see what is going to happen. God knows what is going to happen.”
