Call for Free and Democratic Elections
13 April 2023
The society is concerned about attacks on some political parties and attempts to obstruct campaigns ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on 14 May 2023. We, human rights defenders, set a great deal by election security. We believe that especially the divisive and polarizing language resorted to by the political power alliance enables and approves such attacks.
We all know that the obstacles before freedom of expression and freedom of association have intensified over the years. It is quite worrying to witness an increase in such violations in the run-up to the elections. Those who govern the state at all levels and with their blatant discourse are making statements targeting some opposition parties and their executives. This open orientation not only hinders the opposition’s electoral work but also jeopardizes safety of life. We consider such statements to be extremely dangerous.
With the beginning of the electoral process, we have witnessed the targeting and detention of members and executives of the Peoples’ Democratic Party. In parallel with the intensity of authoritarian policies, the divisive discourse in politics has led to attacks. The first of these took place on 31 March 2023. İYİ Party İstanbul provincial office was shot at at night. Statements made by the authorities after this incident contained major legal contradictions and the public in general did not believe these statements.
On 9 April 2023, the CHP’s İstanbul office was also targeted by gunmen. The statements made by the authorities after the attack were also insufficient. The judiciary’s flexible conduct, which shies away from identifying the perpetrators and convincing the public, facilitates and leads to an increase in such attacks.
The Green Left Party has suffered the most from the pre-election attacks on the offices and executives of political parties.
On 3 April 2023, law enforcement officers prevented the opening of Green Left Party’s campaign office in Halfeti district of Urfa and detained some party members.
On 6 April 2023, the Green Left Party’s campaign office in Bahçelievler, İstanbul was attacked. During the attack, three crescents were drawn on the walls and floor of the office, and insults were written.
On 11 April 2023, another racist attack took place against the election office of the Green Left Party in Menemen district of Izmir. The perpetrators of the attack later shared this attack on social media with racist rhetoric.
On 11 April 2023 the police prevented the opening of the Osmaniye campaign office of the Green Left Party. A person was beaten and taken into custody.
As human rights defenders, we are seriously concerned about these attacks that took place just before the elections. Elections are one of the ways of expressing rights and freedoms through democratic methods and preferences. In addition to the fact that opposition groups have been subjected to many forms of oppression for a long time, such attacks give rise to the belief that the elections will not be safe for the opposition. Officials’ use of a language that generates hate speech, especially against Kurds, women and LGBTI+ people, triggers these attacks.
As human rights defenders, we once again would like to remind the authorities of their responsibility to take measures to ensure that the elections are held under safe and democratic conditions. National and international legislation and conventions must be taken into consideration and implemented; citizens’ right to political association must be respected. The authorities must abandon the language of violence in their discourse; the judiciary must identify the perpetrators of violence and hold fair trials.
Human Rights Association