Analyzing the referendum results from Central Anatolia

As we all digest the results of Turkey's April 16 referendum approving a shift to an executive presidential system, let's take a look at Central Anatolia, one of the strongholds of nationalist and conservative sentiment.

Perhaps the most striking landscape to emerge in this region was in the Kırıkkale province, where the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has a significant history. In this province, the "Yes" votes in the April 16 referendum were just 103,784, below the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) total votes of 105,031 in the November 2015 election. 

The "No" votes in Kırıkkale, on the other hand, were 62,478. The parties that made up the "No" front - the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Felicity Party (SP) - together received just 26,000 votes in the November 2015 election in Kırıkkale. However you slice it, for this figure to reach 62,000 in the referendum, at least 36,000 votes should be added. It is perhaps worth nothing that the MHP's total votes in November 2015 were around 34,000 in Kırıkkale. 

This situation does not mean that all MHP voters voted "No" as a bloc. But it is certainly worth noting this numerical closeness. 

We see a similar trend in the nearby province of Kırşehir. The "Yes" votes in this province in the referendum were 72,363, while the "No" votes were 63,520. In the November 2015 election the AK Party received 69,874 votes. The CHP received 24,547 votes and the HDP received 6,942 votes (amounting to 31,489 votes). To reach the 63,000 "No" votes in the referendum, some 32,000 additional votes were needed. The number of votes the MHP received in November 2015 was 32,760. 

A similar situation appears in the Sivas province...