Turkish election monitors criticise ‘uneven playing field’

International observers have criticised the uneven playing field in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections, and claimed some monitors were obstructed while carrying out their mission.

Audrey Glover, who headed an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) delegation said unbalanced media coverage in favour of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party resulted in voters not being able to make an informed choice.

She said Turkey had “work” to do to ensure that future elections meet democratic standards.

Ignacio Sanchez Amor, the mission’s special coordinator, said the observers “profoundly regret” that two observers were denied entry into Turkey over alleged bias against the country.

He called the move an “utterly unacceptable attempt to influence” the process.

Monitors, however, praised the high turnout in the Turkish vote, which was reported to be more than 87% by the state-run Anadolu Agency.