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2008 Assessment

Turkey: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Turkey: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	100
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	96

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: Some external independent monitoring agencies or groups have also been visiting Turkey in recent elections. While they are not legally regulated, they are allowed in by the government's decision.

References: Supreme Board of Election, Provincial Boards of Election and district (township) boards of election.

Law No. 298 on the Fundamental Principles of Elections and Electoral Registry, Articles 10-20: [ LINK ]

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: The 11 members of the Supreme Board of Election are elected from the Court of Cassation (six members) and the Council of State (five members). The members of the provincial election boards are elected from among the most qualified judges of that province. Political parties' representatives do not have the right to vote at the board. The chairman of the district election board is also a judge, and two members are public civil servants from the same district. Four members are elected from political parties.

Although the Supreme Board of Election, whose decisions are final, is free from any political influence, in principle some of its recent decisions, (e.g. the renewal of deputies election in Siirt province in the 2002 elections) might have been made with political considerations.

References: 1982 Constitution, Article 79 [ LINK ]

Law No. 298 on the Fundamental Principles of Elections and Electoral Registry, Articles 11 through 20 [ LINK ]

Supreme Board of Election [ LINK ]

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: Political parties that have at least one seat in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey are represented in provincial election boards. Parties' representatives (one representative from each eligible party) do not have right to vote on the issues to be decided by the provincial boards. In proportion to the votes received in the last general election in that electoral district, four political parties are represented (one representative from each) in district election boards. (See Law No. 298, Articles 17 and 19).

References: Turan Ates, Demokrasi, Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Yayinlari, 2007.

O.F. Genckaya, "Turkey," Lobbying, Government Relations, and Campaign Finance Worldwide: Navigating the Laws, Regulations, and Practices of National Regimes, T.D. Grant (Eds.), New York: Oceana Publications, 2005.

Yuksek Secim Kurulu [ LINK ]

T.C. Devlet Teskilati Rehberi, TODAIE (Public Administration Institute for Turkey and the Middle East) Ankara, 1998.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.

Law No. 298, Articles 17 and 19.

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Supreme Board of Election has a permanent organization and staff in Ankara. The two major units of the board are the Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs and the General Directorate of Electoral Registry. Electoral Registry Bureaus are established at township level. A permanent director and sufficient number of temporary personnel from the local units of the Ministry of Justice work at these bureaus. Both the provincial and district (township) election boards are formed for two years and convene every two years in the last week of January. Naturally, they are formed and are in office during the election periods. They do not have a permanent staff.

References: A. Seref Gozubuyuk, Turkiye'nin Yonetim Yapisi, Turhan Kitabevi, Ankara,2006.

Turan Ates, Demokrasi Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim, 2007.

Omer Faruk Osmaneminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, Ankara, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, 2008.

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments: The new SECSIS (Voter Registration System) enabled the Supreme Board of Election to announce the recent general election results earlier than in the former elections. Election results and the final decisions of the Board on the objections are published in the Official Gazette (Law 298, Article 13) and posted on the Board's website.

References: YSK Kesin Sonuçlari Açkladi, [ LINK ]

Turan Ates, Demokrasi, Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim,2007.

Omer Faruk Osmaneminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public prosecutor, Ankara, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.

Law 298, Article 13.

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: Electoral offenses and penalties are regulated by Law 298, Articles 95-110, including offenses against election boards, double registry, as well as offenses relating to private radio and television broadcasting.

Interestingly, according to Law No. 3361 (law amending the constitution), Article 6, "no voting" is also an offense in Turkey and the chairman of the district election board may ask a registered voter who failed to vote in the election to pay a fine (currently about US$16). There are also immunity files about several deputies who violated the electoral prohibitions but investigations of deputies are postponed to the end of the parliamentary period.

References: YSK televizyonlara ceza yagdirdi (Supreme Board of Election hurls warnings) [ LINK ]

"Ysk'dan Rtük'e 'Seçim Yasaklari Uyarisi," (Supreme Board of Elections Warns RTUK about Electoral Prohibitions), [ LINK ]

Turan Ates, Demokrasi Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim, 2007.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.

Law 298, Articles 95-110.

Law 3361 (Law Amending the Constitution), Article 6.

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments: The electoral registry is publicly posted on the table board of each neighborhood headmanship to enable citizens to see and to appeal for corrections according to Articles 39 and 122 of the Law No. 298.

The new electronic system of voter registration caused some bureaucratic problems for those who moved to another district after the 2002 general elections. That is why some voters failed to vote in the last general elections.

References: Skandal; nüfusumuz artiyor, ama seçmen sayisi azaliyor... 2002 seçimlerinde 'tam kanunsuzluk', [ LINK ]

Turan Ates, Demokrasi Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim, 2007.

Ömer Faruk Osmaneminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.

Law No. 298, Articles 39 and 122.

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments: Citizen who are eligible to vote, political parties or their chairpersons or deputy chairpersons at district level, observers, candidates and deputies (members of the national Parliament) have the right to contest the tentative election results at a superior board (e.g. against ballot box board to district/town election board). The decisions of the Supreme Board of Election are final.

References: 1982 Constitution, Article 79: [ LINK ]

Law No. 298 Articles 128-132: [ LINK ]

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: In a hierarchical way (from bottom-up), citizens can appeal to the boards for review of electoral violations. The Supreme Board of Election has the final "say" on disputes on the election results.

References: Genel seçimlere itiraz, [ LINK ]

O.F. Genckaya, "Turkey," Lobbying, Government Relations, and Campaign Finance Worldwide: Navigating the Laws, Regulations, and Practices of National Regimes, T.D. Grant (eds.), Oceana Publications, New York, 2005.

Turan Ates, Demokrasi Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim, 2007.

Ömer Faruk Osmaneminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation , Ankara, September 2008.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: Indoor electioneering activities, including in military barracks, military headquarters, military units, buildings and facilities are prohibited by law (Law 298, Article 51/final). However, especially before the last general election period, the attitude of the Turkish Armed Forces toward the government party caused some confusions about the neutrality of the military.

The fact is that the military was neutral during the last elections as it was in the previous elections. With the advent of the presidential election in Spring 2007, the declaration of the former Chief-in-Staff Yasar Buyukanit on April 12, 2007, and a memorandum on the military's website on April 27, 2007, were considered as being in opposition to the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Many circles considered the victory of AKP in July 2007 elections as a popular response against the military's attitude and the threat of possible military intervention.

In fact, what the military opposed was not the rise of the AKP in the popular vote but the election of a president who, they believe, is not loyal to the fundamental principles of the Republic as the commander in chief of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). Naturally, the TAF, as a safeguard of the principles of the Republic, always makes a gesture against anti-secular developments and shows no tolerance for the wearing of headscarfs and similar behavior in public sphere.

References: Law 298, Article 51/final.

"AKP'ye seçimi e-muhtira kazandirdi"ya cevap, [ LINK ]

Turan Ates, Demokrasi Siyasi Partiler ve Secim, Ankara: Beta Basim Yayim, 2007.

Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor, Ankara, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation , Ankara, 2008.

Peer Review Comments: This is a very tricky issue. The military does not involve itself directly in elections, but it does "weigh in" and is known to protect the principles of the republic against too much democracy.

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments: Although there is no legal regulation on regarding election observers, with the permission of the Turkish government some independent observers and those from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe came to Turkey during different election periods.

References: O.F. Genckaya, "Turkey," Lobbying, Government Relations, and Campaign Finance Worldwide: Navigating the Laws, Regulations, and Practices of National Regimes, T.D. Grant (eds.), New York: Oceana Publications, 2005.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: According to Article 25 of Law No. 298, both candidates and political parties may assign an observer at the polling stations. This does not apply to international observers but several international observer groups also visited polling stations at different localities without any difficulty.

References: Law No. 298, Article 25. [ LINK ]

Avrupa seçim denetlemeye geliyor, [ LINK ]

Sandik hilelerine geçit yok! [ LINK ] AVRUPA KONSEYI'NDEN TÜRKIYE'YE SEÇIM HEYETI, [ LINK ]

Ömer Faruk Osmaneminagaoglu, Office of the Chief Public prosecutor, May 2008.

Erol Tuncer, Chairman of the Foundation of Economic, Social Research Foundation, Ankara, September 2008.