The referendum in Turkey did not meet the standards of the Council of Europe. This statement was made head of the delegation of the parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Cezar Florin Preda. This is stated in the statement of mission of observers of the OSCE ODIHR.
“The legal basis did not meet the requirements to hold genuine and democratic process,” he noted.
In the document, in particular, reported that serious violations in the voting day, there was not, however, voters did not provide objective information about basic aspects of the future reform. In addition, at the polling stations there were no representatives of public organizations as observers.
The OSCE statement said that opponents and supporters of the constitutional amendments were not guaranteed equal access to media as per the allocation of free airtime on TV favored the ruling party and the President.
The head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commenting on the outcome of the referendum, said that Turkish citizens have made their choice, despite the opposition of “those who have the worldview of the crusaders.”
16 April, Turkey held a referendum on amendments to the Constitution. According to preliminary results, the amendment was voted 51.4%. The final results will be announced in 11-12 days after appeals. The opposition stated about violations during the referendum, in particular, criticized the decision of the electoral Commission to count valid ballots and envelopes without stamps.