06/08/2014 Election observation
A 28-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Meritxell Mateu Pi (Andorra, ALDE), will travel to Turkey from 8 to 11 August to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The delegation will meet, in particular, the three candidates standing for the election (or their representatives), the Chairman of the Supreme Board of Elections (SBE) and representatives of civil society and the media as well as representatives of the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTSC), before observing the ballot on 10 August.
In a declaration dated 23 July, the PACE pre-electoral delegation said that “the presidential election of 10 August 2014 will be a crucial moment for political life in Turkey”, given that, following the constitutional reform of 2007, 53 million Turks will, for the first time, directly elect the President of the Republic.
* * *
A joint press conference is scheduled on Monday 11 August (place and time to be confirmed).