Elections in Turkey cannot be a model of democracy - expert

Baku/28.06.18/Turan: Elections are only one of the institutions of democracy, which exists only if other institutions operate as well - independent courts, a free press. This does not happen in Turkey, the powers of the parliament are severely limited, a serious prosecution campaign is against political opponents. Therefore, elections held in such conditions cannot be considered a model, including for Azerbaijan, said in the interview with the Cətin sual ("Difficult Question") program of the Turan agency by legal expert Samad Rahimli, commenting on the June 24 presidential election in Turkey, in which Rejep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected president.

According to him, Erdogan wins thank to consolidating the state apparatus and using administrative resources.

Elections do not consist only of the voting day. They should be held in fair conditions, all candidates and political forces should have equal conditions. However, in Turkey, the last election campaign personally showed that traditional media are controlled by Erdogan.

One of his political rivals (Selahattin Demirtash) is in prison. Other leaders, although free, but are under pressure. That is, the elections held in unequal conditions, fairly caused international criticism. Comparing the elections in Azerbaijan and Turkey, Rahimli said that there is still some competition in Turkey, but in Azerbaijan, the elections are simply imitated. -06D--