The Message of the Election Results: More Human Rights and Democratization
29 May 2023
The parliamentary and presidential elections were completed on 28 May 2023. As a result of the elections, which were held in an environment where there was no equal opportunity between political parties and voters and where democratic conditions were not created, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected president.
The Human Rights Association would like to make some observations after the elections. The most important conclusion of the election is that half of the citizens adopted a different opinion despite the heavy pressure of the current authoritarian rule. Although each political party in the opposition has a different view, it is seen that a democratic objection is common.
We, human rights defenders, believe that the existence of such a democratic objection and the desire for democratization must be recognized by the government. This objection should be taken into consideration and a political program in favor of rights and freedoms should be prioritized.
We think that practice in accordance with domestic and international law should be adopted based on universal rights.
Obstacles and punishments against freedom of expression must be removed; politicians, human rights defenders, and journalists held in prisons for political reasons must be released immediately.
Women, who make up half of Turkey’s population, are demanding the reinstatement of the İstanbul Convention, and this demand must be accepted immediately. We believe that the İstanbul Convention, which is the most comprehensive convention drafted by the Council of Europe on violence against women, should be re-signed.
The discriminatory, marginalizing, and sometimes hateful discourse the government uses against the opposition must change. All identities need to live in freedom and safety.
The right to health and life of sick prisoners must be protected, and the legal grounds that lead them to death, the Forensic Medicine Institute report criterion, and security-first practices must be abandoned. We expect new approaches based on humanitarian law on this issue.
In particular, we think that the language of hate against LGBTI+ persons should change, and Turkey should act in accordance with the prohibition of discrimination prescribed in Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is a party, and recognize their rights.
One of the most important results of this election is the stand of the Kurdish people against the pro-security and violence policies. The Kurdish people want peace that will be negotiated through democratic methods. They want to get rid of all the fatigue of the war and raise their children in a safe and peaceful environment. We stress that the government should immediately abandon its stance on the Kurdish issue and take democratic steps.
All segments of society are aware of the dire economic situation in Turkey caused by the multi-faceted oppressive environment. It is necessary to secure workers’ and laborers’ economic and social rights and ensure that they live in a safer working environment. The requirements of the conventions signed by Turkey on this issue should be remembered, and they should be implemented as soon as possible.
As a result, half of the people living in the country have clearly expressed their dissatisfaction with the government’s political practices and governance, and voted accordingly.
As human rights defenders, we argue that the political power should take this concrete fact into account and act as soon as possible to ensure democratic conditions as well as a political system and understanding that protects rights.
Human Rights Association