Parliamentary Elections, 3 November 2002

ODIHR was invited by Turkey's Foreign Ministry on 18 September to consider sending an observation mission to the 3 November parliamentary elections. This was the first time ODIHR had been invited by the Turkish authorities to observe an election.

While ODIHR accepted the invitation and deployed a five-person election assessment mission led by Peter Eicher of the United States. The mission visited Turkey from 29 October through 4 November.

According to the mission's final report: "The elections were held under election laws that establish a framework for democratic elections in line with international standards. Significant constitutional and legal reforms instituted over the past two years have further improved the overall legal framework under which the elections were carried out.

"At the same time, the broader legal framework and its implementation establish strict limits on the scope of political debate in Turkey. Non-violent expression of political views beyond these limits is still restricted by a variety of laws and is rigorously enforced. Several parties faced action aimed at closing them down during the current elections, notably the Justice and Development Party (AK), the winner of the elections. Many candidates were also banned from running, including AK's leader and leaders of several other parties, generally as a result of past convictions for non-violent political speech. These restrictions on free speech and the practice of dissolving political parties and banning candidates stand in stark contrast to the otherwise pluralist election system in Turkey, as well as its international commitments."