In a few countries outside Europe, members of military (and/or police) forces are not entitled to vote. Among the CoE member states, Turkey does not allow conscripts and military cadets to vote. At first sight, this might be seen as a measure to prevent a politicisation of military forces and to protect free and secret voting, which might easily be affected in the case of military staff. However, such a ban disenfranchises a substantial number of citizens, amounting to an inappropriate restriction to the right to vote. Accordingly, both the Venice Commission and PACE stressed that the need for democratic control over the military should not be used as an excuse to automatically deprive military servicemen of their voting rights (see PACE Res. 1459 (2005), para 9).