Summary

The level of participation of civil society organizations in public administration in Turkey has always distinguished itself by being high among the Middle East and other Muslim countries. Over the past 25-30 years the local and national civil society groups contributing to the solution of society’s problems have been formed in the country. Mostly, with the help of the national internal financial sources – voluntary donations and contributions from the business sector, these institutions have made significant progress in solving social problems, environmental and nature conservation and charity activities, along with the protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms. The areas where the civil society organizations in Turkey have recently joined include active involvement in the election process, voter education and domestic election observation.  

The purpose of this report presented by EPDE is to evaluate the role of the civil society organizations in the electoral process in Turkey, in which there has been a dramatic decline in the protection of human rights and freedoms in recent years, particularly the challenges, opportunities and dangers associated with domestic election observation.

Within the current political environment in Turkey the report covers the opportunities for the CSOs to function, domestic election observation and participation of independent CSOs in this process, challenges and successes they encounter, as well as the necessary conditions and recommendations on the development of domestic election observation for the upcoming elections.

Please read the full report here.