11/04/2023 Election observation
A six-member, cross-party delegation* of observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC), is making a pre-electoral visit to Türkiye on 12-13 April 2023 to assess the election campaign and political climate prior to the early presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May.
In Ankara, the delegation is due to meet the Presidential candidates or their representatives, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, the leaders or representatives of the main political parties competing in the elections, and members of the Turkish delegation to PACE.
Meetings are also scheduled with officials organising the election and overseeing the rules applying to media coverage, as well as representatives of NGOs, the media and the diplomatic community.
The pre-electoral delegation will issue a statement at the end of the visit.
A full 40-member delegation from PACE will travel to Türkiye in May to observe the voting alongside other international partners.
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* Members of the delegation: Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC), head of delegation; Kestutis Masiulis (Lithuania, EPP/CD); Mireille Clapot (France, ALDE); Lord Simon Russell (United Kingdom, EC/DA); George Loucaides (Cyprus, UEL); John Howell (United Kingdom), monitoring co-rapporteur for Türkiye.