Nationalist BBP announces support for ‘yes' campaign


The chairman of the Great Union Party (BBP), Mustafa Destici, announced on Friday that his party would support the "yes" campaign in the April 16 referendum.

The nationalist party, which garnered only 0.6 percent of the vote in the Nov. 1 elections, has made it known that it will say yes in the referendum.

The proposed law gives executive powers to the president and vice president, while abolishing the post of the prime minister. It also lowers the age of candidacy for Parliament from 25 to 18 and increases the number of parliamentarians from 550 to 600 in accordance with the country's growing population.

The number of the Constitutional Court members will also be decreased from 17 to 15. The same law also proposes general elections be held every five years, instead of the current four years, with the presidential election taking place on the same days.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli said on Thursday evening that those who are waiting for a chaotic environment in the country will be disappointed.

Commenting on the latest development via his official Twitter account, Bahçeli said, "The circles that hopefully wait for chaos, wave hands to pick a fight and applaud the darkness will thoroughly lose on April 16."

The MHP jointly passed the constitutional changes in Parliament with the government and has been a supporter of the "Yes" campaign since the very beginning.