International observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) believe that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won the presidential elections in Turkey, has an “unfair advantage” due to media bias and restrictions to freedom of expression. This is stated in statement published on the organization’s website on Monday 29 May.
According to an OSCE statement, the second round of the presidential election gave voters the opportunity to choose “between real political alternatives” but was marked by “increasingly incendiary and discriminatory speeches” during the period. the country.
“Media bias and continued restrictions on freedom of expression have created an uneven playing field and contributed to an unfair advantage for the incumbent,” the international observers’ findings summed up in the statement.
What other observations did the OSCE note during the second round of presidential elections in Turkey:
voters were not sufficiently informed due to the lack of transparency on the part of the organizers of the elections; there were several instances of violence directed primarily against opposition supporters; cases of illegal campaigning and violations of the ban on organizing inaugural events during the pre-election period have been recorded.
Farah Karimi, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, said that “it would be too myopic to say whether (the elections) were fair or not, whether they were free or not” (quoted by RIA News ).
On May 28, the head of Turkey’s High Electoral Commission, Ahmet Yener, announced that Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be the country’s new president. His rival, opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroglu promised to continue the fight against the current regime. According to him, the last elections were the most unfair in recent years.
Officially, the country’s CEC has not yet announced the results of the second round of elections, however, after processing almost 99% of the ballots, Erdogan was ahead of Kilichdaroglu by more than 4% (52.07% against 47, 93%). Turkish opposition media, following the results of processing almost 99% of the ballots, also gave Erdogan the lead with 52.03%.
The first round of presidential elections took place in Turkey on May 14. According to his results, not a single candidate won the necessary 50% of the votes for victory (Erdogan had 49.51% of the votes, Kılıçdaroglu – 44.88%). Sinan Ogan, a former contestant in the Ata alliance presidential race, which garnered just over 5% of the vote in the first round, called on supporters to support Erdogan in the second round.
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