PACE approves Turkey's june election

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) yesterday gave its formal blessing to Turkey's June 12 national election, saying it was democratic, well-managed and demonstrated pluralism, but did mention the need for further improvements in future elections.

According to a statement by Kerstin Lundgren of Sweden, who led the PACE delegation to Turkey to observe the election and authored the report, "There is a vibrant civil society in the country and, in a welcome development -- since electronic media can now broadcast in languages other than Turkish only -- campaigning is now allowed in those languages as well." She said the Supreme Election Board (YSK) is acting in an efficient and transparent manner and, seemingly, in full compliance with the letter of the law. "Some legislative amendments introduced since 2007, albeit not yet all-encompassing, have paved the way for a better and more transparent electoral process," she said. However, the report, submitted on Monday in Strasbourg, did say that Turkey needs to undertake further reforms in fundamental rights to improve future elections. The PACE committee also observed that improvements are needed in Turkey with regard to media freedom. "The relatively constraining legal framework should be revised. Clear and unambiguous rules regarding media freedom and freedom of expression need to be introduced," it suggested. The committee welcomed the change in the law prior to this election which allowed candidates to conduct campaigns in languages other than Turkish, which it said is a positive move. It also approved of the practice of using transparent ballot boxes, which were used for the first time in the June 12 election, and praised the measure of prohibiting cameras or mobile phones in voting booths to prevent any inappropriate pressure on voters.