EU High Representative and Vice-President Federica Mogherini and the EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a joint written statement that the Nov. 1 snap elections in Turkey, which saw a turnout as high as 85 percent, “have reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Turkish people to democratic processes.”
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) received almost 50 percent of the votes to secure a single-party government after a five-month break, which had started with the June 7 elections, when the AKP had received 40.87 percent of the votes, which was not enough for sole rule.
As coalition efforts proved to be fruitless, Turkey, for the first time in its history, decided to go to snap elections, which were scheduled for Nov. 1.
“The EU will work together with the future government in order to further enhance the EU-Turkey partnership and to continue to advance our cooperation across all areas for the benefit of all citizens,” the EU’s joint statement read.
On the same day, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said he had written to congratulate Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on his party’s result during the election, which had seen “a strong voter turnout.”
“I trust when the new government is formed it will take the initiative to tackle the many challenges facing Turkey today and to build an inclusive society embracing all those who did not vote with the majority,” read Jagland’s statement, issued on Nov. 2.
Jagland also said that as the Council of Europe, they were looking forward to continuing the dialogue and cooperation with Turkey in areas such as Turkey’s role in accommodating over 2 million Syrian refugees who fled their country due to domestic violence for the past five years, reform of the judiciary and freedom of expression.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) encountered a considerable disappointment in the Nov.1 polls, as it only managed to slightly improve on its June 7 performance, getting around 25.8 percent.
Both the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) lost a considerable number of votes. The HDP, which got 13.2 percent of the votes in June, again managed to cross the 10 percent election threshold to get representation in parliament, but only by a narrow margin. The MHP’s loss was even sharper, dropping to around 12 percent from 16 percent in June, apparently losing a sizable chunk of support to the AKP.
hurriyetdailynews.com
2/11/15
--
-
Related:
---
Clashes in Turkey's main Kurdish city after vote
Dutch FM to summon Turkish envoy over AK Party campaign letter
Turkish opposition newspapers blocked after TV raids
EU urges Turkey respect media after 'worrying' police raid
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
OSZE verurteilt gewalttätigen Wahlkampf....
ReplyDeleteAnschläge, Drohungen, Razzien: Der türkische Wahlkampf war weder fair noch friedvoll, urteilen OSZE-Beobachter. Besonders betroffen sei die Kurdenpartei gewesen.
Internationale Wahlbeobachter üben scharfe Kritik am Wahlkampf und an der Zehn-Prozent-Hürde in der Türkei. Die Wahlen seien durch die sich verändernde Sicherheitslage sowie Fälle von Gewalt und Einschränkungen der Medienfreiheit stark behindert worden, erklärten die Organisation für Sicherheit und Zusammenarbeit in Europa (OSZE) und die Parlamentarische Versammlung des Europarates (PACE) in Straßburg.
Der Terroranschlag in Ankara am 10. Oktober habe die Atmosphäre stark beeinflusst. So hätten Attacken zugenommen, besonders gegen Mitglieder der Demokratischen Volkspartei HDP........http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2015-11/tuerkei-wahl-wahlkampf-osze-kritik
2/11/15
Turkey falls short on human rights, fundamental freedoms: European Union...
ReplyDeleteThe European Union has criticized Turkey for a series of flaws in its respect for human rights and democratic standards.
In an annual report to prepare for possible Turkish membership, the EU said that on political issues "the pace of reforms slowed down," adding that some key legislation "ran against European standards."
The full report, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also said that "major shortcomings remain" when it comes to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The release of the report had been delayed so as not to influence elections last week.
The EU needs Turkey to deal with the migrant crisis since is it a key nation on the way between Syria and the European heartland where migrants have sought shelter.
The Associated Press
ctvnews.ca
10/11/15