Protests in Turkey, Erdogan tells European observers to ‘know your place’

Thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul to protest the results of the referendum that extended powers of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Meanwhile, Erdogan celebrated his anticipated victory, telling international observers not to interfere. The crowd of angry demonstrators chanting “No, we won,” numbering some 1,000 people, marched through Istanbul’s neighborhood of Besiktas on Monday evening. As the activists proceeded through narrow alleys the locals cheered at them, with some hurling flowers in support, Russia today reports.

A large banner reading “No has won” was spread by the activists, who claim the referendum was effectively rigged by the government, which introduced changes to the voting procedure as the referendum was about to commence.

The fraud allegations stem from a decision by the board on Sunday to count as valid some 1.5 million ballots with no official stamp thus inciting anger of the opposition and drawing criticism from the international observers.  

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which oversaw the referendum, lambasted the decision to change the rules last-minute, arguing that it had “significantly changed the ballot validity criteria, undermining an important safeguard and contradicting the law.”

Meanwhile, the Turkish leader, who embarked on celebratory rallies as soon as the preliminary results were unveiled, brushed off the criticism, saying that he “did not see, hear or acknowledge” OSCE reports and advised them to not meddle into Turkish internal matters.

“First, know your place. We won’t see or hear the politically motivated reports you prepare,” Erdogan said on Monday, lambasting the OSCE’s unfavorable estimate of the referendum’s conduct by the government.