Congress observer delegation calls on Turkey to seize the opportunity of local elections to continue normalisation and enhance local democracy

Source:Council of Europe Date:01Apr2019

“However, sound election administration and technical skills implementing the law are only parts of the overall picture that makes up the assessment of elections,” underlined the Head of Delegation. “In order to assess elections as being genuinely democratic and in accordance with the Council of Europe principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights, it needs more: a political environment where there is genuine freedom of expression, an atmosphere where media freedom is absolutely ensured, equal access for all parties running in elections to the media, a fair and reasonable legal framework overseen by a robust judiciary”, he explained.

“We from the Congress of the Council of Europe are not fully convinced that Turkey currently has the free and fair electoral environment which is necessary for genuinely democratic elections in line with European values and principles. But we do take the fact that many parties have been successful as a positive sign of Turkey’s democratic resilience,” he stressed.

Also, read the German reaction here