Taken together, significant changes to the electoral legislation were made very close to election day without meaningful public consultation. These amendments appear to have been initiated and finally adopted at a time when the same majority in the Parliament which initiated the amendments, also considered calling for early elections. The most significant amendments were also largely unrelated to the implementation of the 2017 constitutional reform. Based on this sequence of events as well as their content, the application of the March amendments for the 2018 parliamentary and presidential elections is clearly problematic and runs counter to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters. Regardless of the actual motive behind the amendments, their timing and process challenge the legitimacy of Turkish electoral legislation.

The Venice Commission and ODIHR recommend the Turkish authorities to respect the constitutional safeguard prohibiting the application of amendments to election legislation to elections within one year from the adoption. This constitutional prohibition is in line with international good practice and should not again be suspended. Any amendments to the legal framework should be adopted in an inclusive manner including public consultation.