Skip to content. | Skip to navigation

Personal tools
Sections
You are here: Home Breaking news EU says Turkish vote reaffirms people's 'strong' democratic commitment

EU says Turkish vote reaffirms people's 'strong' democratic commitment

02 November 2015, 10:47 CET
— filed under: , ,
EU says Turkish vote reaffirms people's 'strong' democratic commitment

Recep Tayyip Erdogan - Photo EU Council

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union said Monday it looked forward to working with the new Turkish government after elections showed the people's "strong commitment" to democracy as it waited for an international report on the vote.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) won Sunday's vote by a landslide, taking 316 seats in the 550-member parliament to easily form a government on its own after it lost its majority in a June ballot.

"Sunday's general elections in Turkey, which had a high voter turnout, have reaffirmed the strong commitment of the Turkish people to democratic processes," said a statement issued by EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

"The EU will work together with the future government in order to further enhance the EU-Turkey partnership and to continue to advance our cooperation across all areas for the benefit of all citizens," they said.

At the same time, the brief statement, which did not mention Erdogan or the AKP, said the EU would look forward to a report on the conduct of the elections by international monitors.

"We look forward to the OSCE's/ODIHR's preliminary findings and conclusions which will be presented on Monday," it said, without elaborating.

Only last week, Brussels had voiced concerns about a "worrying" crackdown on a press group linked to a bitter rival of Erdogan and urged Ankara to respect media freedoms in the run-up to the poll.

"We want to reiterate the importance of respect of the rule of law and media freedom," Catherine Ray, spokeswoman for Mogherini, said on Wednesday.

"We expect this election to be in line with international and democratic standards," Ray added.

Critics and the domestic opposition said Erdogan was manipulating a press crackdown and a bloody new campaign against Kurdish rebels to win over voters frightened by an upsurge of violence.

Erdogan rejected the charges, saying he alone could ensure national security at a time when the Syrian conflict has stoked regional tensions and forced more than two million refugees to seek safety in Turkey.

Turkey is a candidate country for EU membership but accession talks have stalled, largely on reservations in the bloc over its human rights record.

With the migrant crisis in Europe deepening, Brussels has sought Erdogan's help in controlling the flood of refugees landing on Greece's shores from Turkey.


Document Actions

EU says....

Posted by Demir Arabaci at 02 November 2015, 20:53 CET

As much as AKP and erdogan are detrimental to Turkey's progress in seperation of government and religion, they are far preferable to the alternative of the tail (kurds of any kind) wagging the dog (True Turks) in Turkey.
A strong Turkey is absolutely essential for Nato, EU and other international relations with the free world.
No matter how big the tail gets in absolute numbers they have to find another land to occupy outside of the Turkish borders.
How about iraq and syria now that they are about to become a lawless wasteland for arabs and kurds?
A brilliant idea even if I say so myself and a
 perfect solution for what has become a nuisance for Turkey and the Turks.
If the western powers to be have some intelligence they would back my idea and start implementing it asap. that would also, hopefully, stem the migration out of iraq and syria and give the EU a huge breathing room.
Needless to say that would take some intelligence and I really don't see any intelligence in the leadership of the west accept for USA and that is going to change within the next few months.
A great pity!!!