Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am surprised by the Minister's reply. On Monday the elections observer, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, observed that the Turkish elections had been unfair and overshadowed by a climate of fear. This echoes the claim made by the HDP that it had been unable to campaign effectively because it had been busy trying to negotiate an end to violence in the predominantly Kurdish south east. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, PACE, went further and denounced the entire process as unfair. I have also heard reports that electricity was cut off in certain parts of the country and of the removal of ballot boxes by army personnel. There were a number of difficulties surrounding the elections, in the run-up to which thousands of people were arrested, many of whom had been the victims of violent attacks. Is the Minister concerned that these statements on how unfair the elections process was contradict his that the election campaign was relatively peaceful? As an outsider looking in, I would have the opposite view.

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