Early Parliamentary Elections, 22 July 2007

In response to an invitation from Turkey's Foreign Ministry, ODIHR deployed an election assessment mission for the early parliamentary elections on 22 July.

The mission was deployed from 25 June to 26 July 2007. It was led by Julian Peel Yates of the United Kingdom and consisted of 15 election experts from 14 OSCE participating States. In addition to experts based in Ankara, the mission deployed teams to Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Adana, Erzurum, Diyarbakir, and Van and visited a total of 25 of the 81 provinces. The mission also contained a media-monitoring component.

According to the mission's final report: "The overall conduct of the elections represents a notable achievement against a background of political tensions which arose in the spring of 2007, following the failure by parliament to elect a new president. The elections demonstrated the resilience of the election process in Turkey, characterized by pluralism and a high level of public confidence."

Election Assessment Team

Julian Peel Yates (United Kingdom): Head of Mission
Harald Jepsen (Denmark): Deputy Head of Mission
Mirella Marchese (Italy): Media Analyst
Marcus Brand (Austria): Political Analyst
Inna Shyrokova (Ukraine): Legal Analyst
Nikolai Vulchanov (Bulgaria): Election Analyst
Constance Kalpan (USA): Election Analyst
Tea Kiliptari (Georgia): Election Analyst
Anar Mammadli (Azerbaijan): Election Analyst
Anne Serafini (France): Election Analyst
Alexander Shlyk (Belarus): Junior Election Analyst
Klemens Buescher (Germany): Senior Adviser, OSCE Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities
Jane Kareski (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia): Logistics Officer
Piotr Szymczyk (Poland): Finance Officer
Trevor Harvey (United Kingdom): Security Officer
Jonathan Stonestreet (USA): OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser