Turkish constitutional referendum 'Yes' campaign

The Turkish Council of State has dismissed one of its members over his alleged links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has accused the United States of harboring members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) in the country and supporting the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, which Ankara sees as an affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Germany will fail to form a government following the recent federal elections in the country, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 26, blasting Berlin's "anti-Turkey stance" before the elections.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım sent a congratulatory message to German Chancellor Angela Merkel after she was re-elected with her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany's election on Sept. 24. 

"I have sent a written congratulatory note to Merkel," Yıldırım said in a televised interview on Sept. 25.

The Istanbul municipal council will meet on Sept. 28 to elect a new provincial mayor, after Kadir Topbaş announced last week that he was stepping down from the post, which he had held for the past 13 years. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Sept. 25 that the position of Topbaş would "probably" be filled  by one of the Istanbul district mayors. 

The Istanbul municipal council will meet on Sept. 28 to elect a new provincial mayor, after Kadir Topbaş announced last week that he was stepping down from the post, which he had held for the past 13 years. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Sept. 25 that the position of Topbaş would "probably" be filled  by one of the Istanbul district mayors. 

If President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could nearly secure the approval of the constitutional amendments, which adopted an executive presidential system with excessive powers through the controversial referendum in mid-April, it was because of the support and unprecedented alliance of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The National Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said on Sept. 9 that the planned independence referendum of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government on Sept. 25 was among the closest threats on Turkey's national security and that it should not be allowed. "This referendum of peshmerga is one of the closest threats on our national security and it should never be allowed.

Sometimes when you read stories in papers separately, they are just news items. But when you list them next to each other, they can give you a bigger picture; and the bigger picture in Ankara nowadays shows some inconsistencies. Something might be going wrong in the Turkish capital. 

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have engaged in a row over the Iraqi Kurdish administration's planned independence referendum, with MHP head Devlet Bahçeli criticizing Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım's dismissal of his claim that the vote could be a "cause for war."