Michael Georg Link, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), has called for a recount of the votes in a referendum held in Turkey on Sunday, saying that such a move would strengthen the weakening confidence in the election process in the country.
In remarks that appeared in local German newspaper Heilbronner Stimme, Link said he was saddened by the remarks of Turkish government officials who said they would not recognise a report issued by the OSCE regarding Sunday’s referendum.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has claimed that Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representatives who monitored the referendum and criticised the referendum for lacking international standards are actually representatives of the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Speaking to ANews after the referendum results, Erdoğan said, "The OSCE is obligated to send observers who are impartial and independent, however, we see the pictures of its observers holding PKK flags in terrorists group's rallies, promoting the "no" campaign. How are we supposed to believe OSCE is impartial after sending these people to monitor the referendum?"
Turkish voters went to polling stations on Sunday to either support or reject government-backed constitutional changes that would convert the country's governance system into a presidential one and therefore increase presidential powers. The fraudulent referendum results showed that the amendments to the constitution were approved by 51.41 percent of votes with all ballots counted.
