EU calls for addressing “shortcomings” in Turkish election process
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A EU’s top diplomat called on Tuesday for Turkey to address “shortcomings” in the election process that has been identified by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in a statement, “We note the preliminary findings and conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and call on Turkish authorities to address the shortcomings identified.”
He added that the EU “attaches the utmost importance to the need for transparent, inclusive and credible elections, in a level playing field.”
Ambassador Jan Petersen, head of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) election observation mission said earlier that Turkey’s High Election Board (YSK) “work was lacking in transparency, as well as the overwhelming bias of the public media and the limitations to freedom of speech.”
An OSCE delegation said current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the country’s ruling parties enjoyed an unjustified advantage over opposition parties who had faced unequal conditions for campaigning.
The findings were issued at a press conference on May 15 by a joint observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
The International Election Observation Mission report stated, “The process for handling complaints at all levels of the election administration lacked transparency and the Supreme Electoral Council decisions that were published generally were not sufficiently reasoned.”
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in turn, slammed the OSCE report, claiming that the remarks “politically charged and accusatory.”
The ministry added. “Statements in the report go beyond the election process and are incompatible with the principles of independent and impartial observation.”
On May 14, Turkish Presidential and Parliamentary elections started the and ended with neither candidate, Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 49.51 percent of votes and Kemal Kilicdaroglu with 45.0 percent, securing the 50-percent threshold needed to win in the presidential contest.
Turkey, now, is heading to a run-off on May 28 under European and international monitoring of the elections and results.