OSCE to offer recommendations to improve election system in Turkey

Within two months after presidential elections, a delegation from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will release its final report, which will also include recommendations for improving the election system in Turkey, said the head of the OSCE’s election observation team in Turkey.

“As a member of the OSCE, Turkey is obliged to take these recommendations into consideration,” Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, head of the Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency on Aug. 7, during a visit to presidential hopeful HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş.

“Of course, it [Turkey] doesn’t have to accept [the recommendations]. But within its obligation of abiding by the OSCE’s implementations, we expect it [Turkey] to take these proposals into consideration,” Ahrens added.

The diplomat underlined that their basic argument is built on the presence of certain problems concerning the legislation in Turkey.

He gave such an example and explained how, while, according to the Law on Presidential Elections, the official campaign period began July 11, the Supreme Election Board (YSK) issued a decision to postpone the application of key campaign prohibitions and guarantees aimed at ensuring equal campaigning opportunities for all contestants until July 31.

“Thus, campaigning activities in July were turned into an ambiguous situation; a vacuum has emerged in its infrastructure,” Ahrens was quoted as saying by Anadolu.

The delegation will hold a press conference on Aug. 11, a day after the first round of elections on Aug. 10.