CHP: Turkey will 'breathe sigh of relief' at No vote

By Baris Gundogan and Mehmet Tosun

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s main opposition party has predicted there will be a No vote in Sunday’s constitutional referendum.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Tekin Bingol told Anadolu Agency on Friday they were confident Turkish voters would reject the proposed changes.

Turkey’s electorate will be asked to vote Yes or No to an 18-article constitutional reform bill that would shift the country from a parliamentary system of governance to a presidential one.

"The result will not be a surprise for us; we are confident that the result will be No. The Yes campaigners will be the ones surprised," Bingol said.

Bingol also said the public could have “peace of mind” about voting, saying his party would ensure there was proper counting of ballots and results, with the help of thousands of party activists and volunteers.

"I want to say it to our citizens very clearly; the CHP has completely provided the security of the ballots. We had some small shortcomings in the elections of Nov. 1 and June 7 [2015] ... Everyone can vote with peace of mind," he said.

Bingol also said the party would help disabled voters or those with health problems travel to polling stations.

On the No campaign, Bingol said no party political flags or emblems had been used.

"The previous elections took the form of party propaganda; this time it was a different campaign. This campaign was just about the constitutional change," he said.

The CHP has not planned any celebrations in the event of a No vote, Bingol said. "There is nothing to celebrate, we just stated the facts and said No," he added.

However, Turkey would "breathe a sigh of relief" upon a No vote, Bingol said.