International Referendum Observation Mission press conference, Ankara, 17 April 2017

Mission at a glance

Head of Mission: Tana de Zulueta (Italy)

Core team of 11 staff from 7 participating States

24 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country

Mission schedule

17 March: Opening press conference

25 March: Deployment of long-term observers

16 April: Referendum day

17 April: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions

20 April: Departure of long-term observers

22 April: Departure of the core team

Following an official invitation, and based on the findings and conclusions of an OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission undertaken from 22-24 February, the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed a Limited Referendum Observation Mission (LROM) to observe the 16 April constitutional referendum.

Long-term observation

The OSCE/ODIHR LEOM, headed by Tana de Zulueta, consists of 11 international experts based in Ankara. In addition, 24 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 25 March.

The mission will observe this referendum for its compliance with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections and referenda, as well as with national legislation. Observers will follow campaign activities, the work of the referendum/election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legislative framework, and the resolution of referendum-related disputes. As part of the observation, the LROM will conduct a comprehensive monitoring of the media.

Referendum Day

While the mission would visit a limited number of polling stations on referendum day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results is not envisaged.

The day after the referendum, ODIHR will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire referendum process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.

Co-operation with Other Partners

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is planning to deploy an observer delegation for the referendum.

Previous elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has previously assessed or observed six elections in Turkey, most recently the early 2015 parliamentary elections.