ANKARA, TURKEY — (AP) An observer mission that has been monitoring the Turkish referendum campaign and vote on expanding presidential powers says the procedures used “fell short” of international standards.
Turkey’s government is focused on extending a controversial state of emergency by a further three months.
The measure was approved on Sunday.
Tana de Zuleta of the OSCE said Monday that a Turkish electoral board decision to allow as valid ballots that did not bear official stamps undermined important safeguards against fraud.
The monitoring group described a series of irregularities in the referendum, including a skewed pre-vote campaign in favor of the “yes” vote, intimidation of the “no” campaign and the fact that the referendum question was not listed on the ballot.
Unofficial results have shown a narrow win for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had advocated the `yes’ vote.
De Zuleta of the OSCE said the procedures “fell short of full adherence” to the standards Turkey has signed up for.
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