Kox rounds off Turkish pre-election research
Kox rounds off Turkish pre-election research
SP Senator Tiny Kox, accompanied by four other members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), travelled to Turkey to assess the lay of the land in the runup to the approaching elections. They have now completed their pre-election observation and produced a report.
Meeting with political parties, the electoral commission, the Media Council, Turkish election observers and a number of ambassadors and members of the government, the PACE delegation has studied the organisation of the elections closely and come to the conclusion that in relation to their right to vote the situation of Turks living abroad has been improved, but expressed concern over the very high threshold of 10% above which a party’s vote must come if it is to win any seats. Previous requests to lower it have produced no response in the form of action. Governing AK party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmed Davugutlu are hoping to win a two-thirds majority, enabling them to transform the parliamentary system into a presidential system, a change strongly opposed by opposition groups. The performance of the latter at the elections will largely determine whether the reform can be enacted. The elections, which will be held on June 7, seem set to generate more tension than has for many years been the case.