The EU refused to congratulate Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoganas the election winner, with the belief that Turkey’s presidential campaign was unfair & unequal in application.
Sunday, June 24th, President Erdogan won at Turkey’s presidential elections with 52.5% of 99% votes tallied. The Justice & Development Party (AKP) got 42.5% of the parliamentary election’s popular vote.
JAILHOUSE CAMPAIGN
The Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas was forced to campaign from behind jail bars for the past 20 months.
European Union Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini and E.U. Expansion Commissioner Johannes Hahn gave a joint-statement of upon the E.U.’s decision to disavow Turkey’s presidential election, saying “As the election observers from the OSCE have pointed out, the voters had a genuine choice, but the conditions during the election campaign were not equal.”
STATE OF EMERGENCY
“In addition, the restrictive legal framework and powers granted under theongoing state of emergency restricted the freedoms of assembly and expression, including within the media,” the joint statement declared.
“Turkey will be best served in rectify shortcomings in terms of legal certaintyand the fundamental rights of its citizens.”
The EU is also critical of the expanded powers of the Turkish President,including appointing ministers themselves. “The new system could have far-reaching consequences for democracy,” said Mogherini and Kahn.
Turkey has negotiated with the E.U. on membership since 2005, but the entire process has seemingly stopped and in the interim, the country has forged stronger ties with both Russia and Iran.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
