Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

[108] (p30-31)

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3 History
General Election 2002
3.01 As recorded by the Office of the Prime Minister of Turkey:

“On December 2, [2002] the Supreme Election Board (YSK) annulled the results of the elections held in the southeastern province of Siirt on November 3 [2002]. A written statement following the YSK meeting said: 'The Board has decided unanimously that irregularities in the election procedures necessitate re-holding the elections in the southeastern province of Siirt.' The by-election in Siirt was held on March 9, 2003. AKP candidates Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Öner Gülyeşil and Öner Ergenç were elected, and the number of AKP seats in Parliament increased to 365. However distribution of seats in the Turkish Grand National Assembly as of October 20, 2006 noted;

Justice and Development Party (AKP) 354

Republican People's Party (CHP) 154

Motherland Party (ANAP) 21

True Path Party (DYP) 4

Social Democratic

People's Party (SHP) 1

People's Rise Party (HYP) 1

Independents 9

Vacant 5

TOTAL 549

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See also Section 14:01 Freedom of Political Expression

3.02 The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found in their report on the Turkish elections, published 4 December 2002 that “The election campaign was short but active. Parties campaigned in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Although there were a substantial number of cases of harassment reported by some political parties and by human rights groups, there was a general consensus that the situation had improved markedly compared to previous elections.” [14] (p2)