Roundup: Battle lines drawn in Turkey's referendum campaign

The Supreme Election Board of Turkey on Saturday announced a constitutional referendum slated for April 16, putting on a collision course the ruling party and its allies and the main opposition and its supporters over a presidency to be strengthened.

A day earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the constitutional amendment package that would transform the country into an executive presidency from the current parliamentary system in place since the republic was established in 1923.

The battle lines have already been drawn among the public and the four political parties in parliament, as they have vowed to spare no effort to garner "yes" and "no" votes in the plebiscite.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is joining hands with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to strive for the amendment package's passage to give the president more powers, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are saying a firm "no."

During the campaign for "yes," both the AKP and MHP are aiming to focus on explaining the rationale behind the shift.

"We realized that the public is not very well informed about the content of the constitutional amendment and the presidential system as well," Ravza Kavakci, AKP's Istanbul MP, told Xinhua.

The ruling party will devote its campaign to enlightening the Turkish people about what the future of the country looks like under a stronger presidency, the lawmaker said.

He noted that President Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and MHP leader Devlet Bahceli will all organize rallies across the country to explain the "new system" to the people.

For its part, the CHP will highlight "regime change" under the presidential system to contradict what the ruling party calls a "system change."

The main opposition has argued that if excessive authority vests on the president, a "totalitarian presidential system" will emerge.

"And this is obviously a regime change," the Hurriyet Daily News quoted CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as saying.

The CHP has decided to use the national flag instead of the party flag throughout the campaign to drive home the message that "This is not about political identity, it is about all the people," according to press reports.

In addition, the "no" camp has agreed to use a positive language in the campaign.

"'No' seems to be a negative word at first glance, but it also expresses an objection, a firm standing," said Saruhan Oluc, co-chair of the HDP. "And most importantly it is the first word when introducing a new proposal."

"We will run our 'no' work as strongly as we can, despite all the difficulties in this process," he told Xinhua. "And I believe that the people of Turkey will say no to this anti-democratic regulation."

Otherwise, a "one-man rule" will be the natural outcome of a "yes" vote, he argued.

The ruling party rejected the suggestion, arguing that under the new system the government will operate more efficiently and people will have more power, as the president will directly get the vote of confidence from the public.

"If the people are not satisfied with the acts of the president, they would vote to replace him," Kavakci said, adding, "No one should have a doubt on the basic principles of the democracy under the new constitution."

Meanwhile, polarization among the divided public is deepening as the arguments are heating up.

"Mark my words, people who will say 'no' in the referendum are PKK, PYD-YPG, DAESH, DHKP-C and FETO members," said Mehmet Aras, a floor covering worker who was referring to the Islamic State and other groups blacklisted by Ankara as terror organizations.

"My vote cannot be in line with them," said Aras.

"We say 'yes' because the PKK says 'no.' We say 'yes' because FETO says 'no.'' We say 'yes' because the HDP says 'no'," Prime Minister Yildirim said lately.

"It is sure those who say 'no' will face various obstacles and bans," Serhat Gundogar, owner of a small fish restaurant in Istanbul, told Xinhua. "They are on the verge of labeling all naysayers as terrorists."

In the view of Selim Taylan Karabol, a 50-year-old teacher, the future of his country is quite dark.

Turkey is still reeling from a spate of deadly terror attacks and a failed coup over the past year, as detentions and dismissals are continuing amid a state of emergency which has been extended twice.

"I don't expect anything positive out of this referendum," Karabol said, adding chances for the "yes" camp to win are quite slim while the division in society is expected to be driven up in the days ahead when the opposing camps will gear up to woo voters for a win in the historic vote. Endit