2017 Turkish constitutional referendum "Yes" campaign
The 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum 'Yes' campaign was a campaign headed by numerous political parties, non-governmental organisations, individuals and media outlets that successfully campaigned for a 'Yes' vote in the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum. A vote for 'Yes' meant the transformation of Turkey from a parliamentary republic into a presidential republic with an executive presidency. The 'Yes' campaign was rivalled by parties and organisations that led the 'No' campaign. Neither campaign had a united or centralised campaign structure, with rallies and campaign events having been largely organised by political parties independent of each other.
| Kararımız Evet | |
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| Campaign | 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum |
| Affiliation | Justice and Development Party Nationalist Movement Party Other smaller parties and organisations (See list) |
| Status | Won election |
| Slogan | 'Güçlü Türkiye için ben de varım' (I'm in for a strong Turkey) 'Türkiye için vazgeçilemez bir yeminimiz var' (An irrevocable oath for Turkey) |
| Chant | Kararımız Evet (Our decision is Yes) Tabi ki Evet (Yes, of course) |
Turkish constitutional referendum Sunday, 16 April 2017 | ||
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| Campaigns | ||
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| Gallery: Picture, Sound, Video |
The 'Yes' campaign was predominantly led by Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians, as well as Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) politicians loyal to leader Devlet Bahçeli. Initially expecting a 7 February start to the campaign, the AKP eventually kicked off their official campaign on 25 February with a presentation by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım at the Ankara sports stadium. Amid poor showings in opinion polls in February, Erdoğan reportedly asked pro-government pollsters to suspend their opinion polling until the end of March, while proposals for a joint electoral rally by both leading AKP and MHP politicians has also been proposed.
When Turkish ministers, in an illegal move under Turkish law, tried to travel to the Netherlands to promote the 'Yes' campaign to Turkish citizens living there, they were barred from doing so by the Dutch, causing the 2017 Dutch–Turkish diplomatic incident.