ISTANBUL: Turkey’s opposition parties have the right to file objections to the outcome of a recent referendum on expanding presidential powers, the prime minister said Wednesday, but he warned that calling for street protests was unacceptable.
Binali Yildirim said the electoral board would rule on the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s request for the referendum’s annulment. Opposition parties have complained of a series of irregularities, particularly an electoral board decision to accept ballots without official stamps, as required by Turkish law.
Yildirim said “the path to seek rights” should be limited to legal objections.
“Calling people to the street is wrong and is outside the line of legitimacy,” Yildirim said, adding that “we expect the main opposition party’s leader to act more responsibly.”
Thousands have protested in Istanbul and Ankara since Sunday’s referendum, which has set into motion the transformation of Turkey’s system of government from a parliamentary to a presidential one.
Unofficial results show a narrow win for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “yes” campaign, which won 51.4 percent of the vote.
“The main opposition party not recognizing the results is not an acceptable thing,” Yildirim said.
Electoral board head Sadi Guven said the objections would be evaluated Wednesday.
The Istanbul Bar Association announced it had filed a criminal complaint Wednesday against Guven for “wrongful conduct” and “altering the result of the election.”
A prosecutor will now consider whether to press charges against Guven.
International election monitors, including from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), also noted a series of irregularities, and said the decision to accept as valid ballots without official stamps undermined safeguards against fraud and was contrary to Turkish law.
Germany also expressed concern.
“The German government takes the report by the OSCE and the Council of Europe very seriously, and we expect Turkey to do so,” government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters in Berlin. “We will follow closely how Turkey behaves on this.”
The US response has been different, with President Donald Trump calling Erdogan shortly after the referendum to congratulate him on his win.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Erdogan and Trump would meet in person next month, before a NATO Summit. Cavusoglu said that he and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would finalize the date according to the two presidents’ schedules.
Turkey’s premier warns opposition against street protests
Turkey’s premier warns opposition against street protests
US condemns RSF drone attack on World Food Programme convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan
- Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, also expresses concern over the drone attack
WASHINGTON: The US has condemned a drone attack by Rapid Support Forces on an aid convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan state that killed one person and injured three others.
“The United States condemns the recent drone attack on a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan transporting food to famine-stricken people which killed one and wounded many others,” US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos wrote on X.
“Destroying food intended for people in need and killing humanitarian workers is sickening,” the US envoy wrote.
“The Trump Administration has zero tolerance for this destruction of life and of U.S.-funded assistance; we demand accountability and extend our condolences to all those affected by these inexcusable events and terrible war,” he added.
The Sudan Doctors Network said the convoy was struck by RSF drones in the Allah Karim area as it headed toward displaced people in El-Obeid, the state capital, Anadolu Agency reported.
The network described the attack as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law,” warning that it undermines efforts to deliver life-saving aid to civilians amid worsening humanitarian conditions across the country.
There was no immediate comment from the rebel group.
The United States condemns the recent drone attack on a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan transporting food to famine-stricken people which killed one and wounded many others. This follows an attack earlier this week in Blue Nile state that injured a @WFP staff member.…
— U.S. Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs (@US_SrAdvisorAF) February 6, 2026
Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, in a statement also expressed concern over the drone attack which hit the aid trucks in North Kordofan.
“I am deeply concerned by a drone attack earlier today on trucks contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in North Kordofan, the aftermath of which I came across a few hours later, as I left the state capital, El Obeid.”
“The trucks were en route from Kosti to deliver life-saving food assistance to displaced families near El Obeid when they were struck, tragically killing at least one individual and injuring many more. The trucks caught fire, destroying food commodities intended for life-saving humanitarian response.”
Brown added that “Humanitarian personnel, assets and supplies must be protected at all times. Attacks on aid operations undermine efforts to reach people facing hunger and displacement.”
“Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access remains critical to ensure assistance reaches the most vulnerable people across Sudan.”
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary forces has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and which the UN has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
An alert issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, about 800 kilometers to the east.
The IPC said that 20 more areas in Sudan’s Darfur and neighboring Kordofan were at risk of famine.
Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east and center of the country, including the capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
