On Monday evening, 6 May, the EU and the Council of Europe denounced the decisions of the Turkish Supreme Electoral Council to order new municipal elections in Istanbul, and to declare mayors and municipal councillors elected ineligible in the south-east of the country.
The cancellation of the 31 March elections in Istanbul follows an extraordinary appeal by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, AKP, challenging the initially certified election result. This one was won by Ekrem Imamoglu, from the CHP opposition. The new vote is expected to take place on 23 June.
"The justification for this far-reaching decision, taken in a highly politicised context, should be made available for public scrutiny without delay", urged the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and the Commissioner for Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, in a joint statement.
"It is important that the Istanbul election boards can carry out their work in an independent, open and transparent manner, and in compliance with international election norms and standards to guarantee the full credibility of the election process", they said, adding that they expected the Turkish authorities to invite international observers, such as the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, to observe the new election.
Ms Mogherini and Mr Hahn also denounced decisions on the ineligibility of mayors and members of elected municipal councils in south-east Turkey, although their candidacy was checked and validated before the vote (see EUROPE 12235/16). Mayor mandates were given to the candidates with the second highest number of votes.
This goes "against the core aim of a democratic electoral process to ensure that the will of the people prevails" and "undermines the electoral process to which the Turkish people have shown their commitment by casting their votes in very large number as well as Turkey's commitments as member of the Council of Europe", they warned.
The European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey, Kati Piri (S&D, Netherlands), went further. According to her, Turkish President "Erdogan does not accept defeat and goes against the will of the people". "AKP pressured YSK to re-run local elections in Istanbul. This ends the credibility of democratic transition of power through elections in Turkey", she criticised.
The Council of Europe, through its Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland, has also reacted. In his view, the conditions necessary for free and fair elections must be verified before and not after polling day. "The decision has the potential to severely damage voters’ trust", he warned.
The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected criticism "motivated by political considerations". "Everyone should respect this decision, which was taken on the basis of the law", the ministry said in a statement, recalling that the Council of Europe delegation that came to observe the elections had said it was "impressed by the competence of the Supreme Electoral Council". "Turkey has proven its democratic maturity. The decision of the Independent Supreme Electoral Council is intended to ensure that the will of the electorate is clearly expressed" the ministry claimed. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)