The Congress President stated that the decisions of the SEC were “contrary to the principle of fairness in elections where rules that applied prior to the Election Day must also apply after the E-Day. Candidates who were […] admitted to running in elections must also have the effective right to carry out their mandate if elected.” Concerns were also expressed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, with respect to rule of law standards and the general principles of democracy, and by the European Commission in its 2019 Report on Turkey. The latter stated that the decisions by the SEC “are a source of serious concern regarding the respect of the legality and integrity of the electoral process and the institution’s independence from political pressure. They go against the core aim of a democratic electoral process – that is to ensure that the will of the people prevails.”