Following the decision taken on 6 May by the Turkish Supreme Election Council to cancel the 31 March election of the Mayor of Istanbul and at the invitation of the Turkish authorities, a delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe observed the re-run of the mayoral election on 23 June 2019.
Prior to the Election Day, the delegation, led by Andrew DAWSON (CRE, United Kingdom), held meetings in Ankara and Istanbul with members of the electoral administration, representatives of the diplomatic corps, as well as NGOs and the media. Exchanges were also held with candidates running in the election.
On 23 June, the Congress delegation was deployed to polling stations in Istanbul to observe the voting process. The preliminary conclusions was presented by the Head of the delegation at a press conference in Istanbul on 24 June.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities observed the local elections held in Turkey on 31 March, deploying 22 observers from 20 European countries in about 140 polling stations across Turkey, including Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Adana, Erzurum and Diyarbakir. Following the decision of the Turkish Supreme Election Council, the Congress issued several statements calling on the Turkish authorities to guarantee the electoral process in view of the repeat election in Istanbul.
Members of the Congress delegation:
- Head of delegation/Rapporteur:
Mr Andrew DAWSON, United Kingdom (R, CRE)
- Ms Liisa ANSALA, Finland (L, ILDG), Vice-President of the Congress
- Ms Violeta CRUDU, Republic of Moldova (L, EPP/CCE)
- Mr Mario GAUCI, Malta (L, EPP/CCE)
- Mr Robert GRUMAN, Romania, (R, EPP-CCE), Chair of the Congress Governance Committee
- Ms Kateryna MARCHENKO, Ukraine (L, SOC)
- Mr Luc MARTENS, Belgium (L, EPP-CCE)
- Mr Sasa PAUNOVIC, Serbia (L, SOC)
- Ms Barbara TOCE, Italy (L, SOC), Vice-President of the Congress
- Mr Jean-Philippe BOZOULS, Director, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
- Ms Renate ZIKMUND, Acting Head of Service, Department of Statutory Activities, Division of Local and Regional Election Observation
- Mr Adam DRNOVSKY, Election Observation Officer, Local and Regional Election Observation
- Ms Martine ROUDOLFF, Assistant, Local and Regional Election Observation
- Prof Angel M. MORENO, President of the Congress’ Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self‑Government, expert on electoral matters.
Contact :
Renate ZIKMUND
Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
Acting Head of Service, Department of Statutory Activities,
Division of Local and Regional Election Observation
[email protected] – 00 33 (0)6 59 78 64 55
