Criticism of Turkey's electoral board politically motivated, Turkish minister says

Record ID: 645462

  • Title: Criticism of Turkey's electoral board politically motivated, Turkish minister says
  • Date: 18th April 2017
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (APRIL 18, 2017) (REUTERS) TURKEY'S EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS MINISTER, OMER CELIK, ARRIVING FOR A NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKEY'S MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS, OMER CELIK, SAYING: "I say this alluding to those who read this (result) as the end of the negotiation process. There can't be any political or legal ground for their remarks. Therefore, I allude to politicians who make a connection between these two subjects, this can't be anything else than ill-intended comments." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKEY'S MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS, OMER CELIK, SAYING: "Everybody held their meetings and rallies freely. Everybody met the public and explained their views. Some comments (in the OSCE report) about the state of emergency grab the attention. The state of emergency had no negative effect on the referendum process." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKEY'S MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS, OMER CELIK, SAYING: "We've always had an open relationship with the OSCE or other institutions. We expect a just, unbiased and objective approach from them. I would like to say that statements that go beyond technical analysis and that fabricate speculations regarding the electoral infrastructure in Turkey or the methods of carrying out elections in Turkey won't be respected." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKEY'S MINISTER FOR EUROPEAN UNION AFFAIRS, OMER CELIK, SAYING: "The OSCE's remarks and stance on the YSK's (electoral board's) statement on the unstamped ballots are wrong. It is not the first time the YSK took this decision." REPORTERS TAKING NOTES CELIK LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 2nd May 2017 16:47
  • Keywords: Turkey referendum Erdogan opposition polls OSCE observers European Union
  • Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • City: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016CXFXHJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Turkey's minister for European Union affairs lashed out on Tuesday (April 18) at what he called politically motivated comments against the national electoral board's decision to accept unstamped ballots.
    Omer Celik defended what he said were Turkey's strong legal framework and transparent process for elections.
    The YSK electoral board said on its website on Sunday (April 16), as votes were still being cast, that it had received "considerable complaints" that voters had been given slips and envelopes without official stamps and that - after an appeal from a ruling AK Party official - it would accept unstamped documents as long as they were not proven to be fraudulent.
    An initial assessment by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe said the referendum on Sunday (April 16), which granted Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers, did not meet democratic norms.
    Turkey's bar association said a last-minute decision by the YSK electoral board to allow unstamped ballots in the referendum was clearly against the law, prevented proper records being kept, and may have impacted the results.
    A mission of observers from the 47-member Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, said the referendum was an uneven contest.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register