Washington, D.C. – This weekend, Rep. Victoria Spartz (IN-05), Commissioner to the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe – Helsinki Commission, traveled to Turkey to observe national elections as part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s (OSCE PA) election observation mission. Spartz and Helsinki Commission staff observed the general election through visits to polling stations during opening, voting and closing procedures.
“It was very encouraging for me to see high turnouts of citizens in developing democracies like Turkey. Regardless if we like the outcome of any election or not, it’s extremely important that election results represent the will of the people, since they will be getting the benefit or paying the price for them,” Spartz said. “It’s also very important for outside observers like the OSCE to provide unbiased perspectives on election processes for developing and also mature democracies as well as develop better risk-based approaches for its work.”
In 1990, OSCE participating states pledged to hold free and fair elections and invite foreign observers to observe them. Since 1993, the OSCE PA has played a leading role in election observation across the OSCE area.
Earlier this month, Spartz traveled to Germany, Poland and Ukraine with other commissioners to assess the current situation in Europe.
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