Council of Europe urges Turkey to postpone June elections

PARIS, April 24 (KUNA) -- The influential Council of Europe, which monitors democracy and human rights in member countries, on Tuesday called on Turkey, one of its members, to postpone parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for June 24.
The elections are being held some 18 months ahead of schedule and the Monitoring Committee of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) said that conditions are not right for a vote in view of electoral laws amendment just one month ago and the "extremely short period" between these changes and the popular vote.
"The extremely short period between the adoption of these new rules and the upcoming elections leaves too little time for political parties to adjust and complete their preparations for the elections," a statement from the Council's Committee said.
The statement expressed concern about ongoing "Emergency Laws" that have been in place since a failed Coupe d'Etat in Turkey in July 2016. The State of Emergency has been renewed seven times and the Council was critical of the impact on civil society and political activity.
"The state of emergency has, since July 2016, led to disproportional measures and unacceptable restrictions on fundamental freedoms - in particular freedom of expression, the media and assembly," the Council remarked, adding Turkey has made "no progress" on recommendations made by the Council with regard to civil liberties.
In addition, the Strasbourg-based Council said that the context of the elections was not one that could provide guarantees for a democratically-acceptable process.
"The Monitoring Committee is deeply concerned that this adverse context will impede the conduct and organisation of genuinely democratic elections, and confirms that, at the end of the process, the overall legitimacy of these elections is at stake," the statement indicated.
The Council, which has 47 member states including Turkey, also expressed concern about a trend towards the concentration of power in the Turkish Presidency.
"All these factors combined seriously challenge the democratic nature of the elections. The (Monitoring) committee thus recommends that the Turkish authorities postpone the elections." (end) jk.ibi