A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE) will be observing local elections on March 31 in Turkey, according to an announcement made on the official website of the CoE on Wednesday.
The delegation will be composed of 22 observers from 20 countries and led by Andrew Dawson. The mission will operate from March 27 until April 1.
Turkey will hold local elections across all provinces and districts in the country this Sunday.
In addition, the delegation will meet with representatives of the diplomatic corps, government officials, NGOs, think tanks, the media and political parties.
According to the announcement, the preliminary conclusions of the CoE delegation will be shared with the public at a press conference on April 1 in Ankara.
Members of the Congress delegation:
Head of Delegation/Rapporteur:
Mr Andrew DAWSON, United Kingdom (R, ECR)
Ms Liisa ANSALA, Finland (L, ILDG), Vice-President of the Congress
Ms Barbara TOCE, Italy (SOC, L), Vice-President of the Congress
Mr Robert GRUMAN, Romania (R, EPP-CCE), Chair of the Congress Governance Committee
Mr Leo AADEL, Estonia (R, ILDG)
Ms Henrietta BERO, Hungary (L, EPP-CCE)
Ms Majlinda BUFI, Albania (L, SOC)
Ms Violetta CRUDU, Republic of Moldova (L, EPP-CCE)
Mr David ERAY, Switzerland (R, ILDG)
Mr Mario GAUCI, Malta (L, EPP-CCE)
Ms Nino KAVTARADZE, Georgia (L, EPP-CCE)
Ms Kateryna MARCHENKO, Ukraine (L, SOC)
Mr. Luc MARTENS, Belgium (L, EPP-CCE)
Ms Isabelle MOINNET-JOIRET, Belgium (R, EPP-CCE)
Ms Randi MONDORF, Denmark (R, ILDG)
Mr Sasa PAUNOVIC, Serbia (L, SOC)
Mr Vladimir PREBILIC, Slovenia (L, SOC)
Mr Hannes WENINGER, Austria (SOC, L)
Prof Angel M. MORENO, President of the Congress’ Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self‑Government, expert on electoral matters
Ms Renate ZIKMUND, Acting Head of Service, Department of Statutory Activities, Division of Local and Regional Election Observation
Mr Adam DRNOVSKY, Election Observation Officer, Local and Regional Election Observation Ms Martine ROUDOLFF, Assistant, Local and Regional Election Observation