Turkey Must Address Shortcomings in Election Process, EU Foreign Policy Chief Says

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has called on Turkey to address the alleged shortcomings in its electoral process. The call comes as shortcomings in the recent national elections in Turkey were identified by European observers and an international election observation body.

On Tuesday, Borrell issued a statement calling on officials in Turkey to address the shortcomings that were identified by European observers and an international election observation body. Borrell also stressed the importance of transparency and inclusivity in elections.

“We note the preliminary findings of the International Election Observation Mission of the OSCE and the Council of Europe, and call on the Turkish authorities to address the shortcomings identified,” said Borrell, referring to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “The EU attaches the utmost importance to the need for transparent, inclusive, and credible elections in a level playing field.”

The country’s presidential race is headed for a runoff election on May 28 as both incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan and his major opposition rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu failed to reach the 50 percent threshold needed to claim victory.

The assessment by the OSCE found that the Turkish High Election Board showed a lack of transparency in its handling of the elections that took place on Sunday, along with the coverage of the race by state media outlets. A delegation of the OSCE said Erdogan and the country’s governing parties enjoyed an unjustified advantage over the opposition parties, who were made to campaign on unequal conditions.

The shortcomings were announced during a news conference on Monday in a joint observation mission with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“I regret to note that the election administration’s work was lacking in transparency, as well as the overwhelming bias of the public media and the limitations to freedom of speech,” said ODIHR election observation head, Ambassador Jan Petersen, adding that the general elections were largely peaceful even with a number of incidents and that the Turkish High Election Board were efficient in their work as well as the high turnout, saying that it was a high indication of a “strong democratic spirit.”

Photo: European Parliament/Wikimedia Commons(CC by 2.0)