1987 Turkish constitutional referendum
{{Short description|none}}
{{infobox referendum
|title = Should the 10 and 5-year political bans brought by the temporary 4th article of the 1982 constitution be lifted?
|date = 6 September 1987
|country = Turkey
|yes = 11711461
|no = 11636395
|invalid = 1088965
|electorate = 26095630
|map = Turkish constitutional referendum 1987 2.svg
|mapdivision = province
}}
{{Constitutional history of Turkey sidebar}}
A constitutional referendum was held in Turkey on 6 September 1987 to amend temporary article 4 of the constitution, which had forbidden the leaders of banned parties (a total of 242 people) from taking part in politics for ten years. The governing Motherland Party (ANAP) agreed to the referendum after a compromise was struck with opposition parties regarding constitutional changes. ANAP campaigned for the "No" vote, while most opposition parties campaigned for the "Yes" vote. The changes were narrowly approved by 50.2% of voters, with a 93.6% turnout.
Campaign
Temporary article 4 of the Turkish constitution was introduced following the 12 September 1980 coup d'état, which saw the outlawing of several political parties. The article forbade 242 people{{snd}}the leaders of the banned political parties{{snd}}from being involved in politics for ten years. The referendum was the result of negotiations between the governing Motherland Party (ANAP) and opposition parties.{{Cite news |last=Kalafat |first=Haluk |date=2 February 2017 |title=1987 Referandumu: Özal 75 Bin Oyla Kaybetti |trans-title=1987 Referendum: Özal Lost by 75 Thousand Votes |url=https://bianet.org/1/17/183220-1987-referandumu-ozal-75-bin-oyla-kaybetti |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208171049/http://bianet.org/1/17/183220-1987-referandumu-ozal-75-bin-oyla-kaybetti |archive-date=8 December 2018 |access-date=9 March 2023 |work=Bianet |language=tr}}
In the referendum, "Yes" voters used the color blue as their symbol, while "No" voters used orange.{{Cite journal |last=Çelebi |first=Onur |date=May 2021 |title=Siyasi Üslup Meselesi Bağlamında Renklerin Savaşı (6 Eylül 1987 Referandumu) |trans-title=The War of Colors in the Context of the Political Style Issue (6 September 1987 Referendum) |journal=Tarihçi |language=tr |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=54–78}} The "Blue Color Yes" (Turkish: Mavi Renkli Evet) campaign was led by four party leaders who had been restricted by temporary article 4, from the True Path Party, Democratic Left Party, Nationalist Task Party, and Welfare Party. These parties supported the "Yes" campaign, as did the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), despite it not having had any leaders who were affected by temporary article 4. SHP leader Erdal İnönü organized countrywide rallies for the "Yes" campaign.
=Party positions=
| class=wikitable
!Choice !Party !Leader !Political orientation !Ref |
| rowspan="5" |For
|Social Democratic Populist Party |Center-left |
|---|
| Nationalist Task Party
|Far-right |
| True Path Party
|Center-right |
| Democratic Left Party
|Center-left |
| Welfare Party
|Far-right |
| Against
|Center-right |
Results
The referendum was narrowly approved by 50.2% of voters. Turnout was 93.6%, with 24,436,821 votes cast.{{cite book |last1=Nohlen |first1=Dieter |author-link1=Dieter Nohlen |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Elections_in_Asia_and_the_Pacific.html?id=5X_nCwAAQBAJ |title=Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook |last2=Grotz |first2=Florian |last3=Hartmann |first3=Christof |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-924958-9 |page=254 |language=en |access-date=30 April 2025}}{{Referendum results
| for = 11711461
| against = 11636395
| invalid = 1088965
| electorate = 26095630
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://referandum.secimsonuclari.com/1987-referandum-sonuclari Results of the referendum]
{{Turkish elections}}