EU Ready to Work with Turkey after Elections, Commission Says

The European Commission said on Monday that Turkey's general elections "have reaffirmed the strong commitment" of the country's people to democratic processes.

"We look forward to the OSCE's/ODIHR's preliminary findings and conclusions which will be presented on Monday," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn said in a joint statement on Sunday's elections, pointing to "high voter turnout".

The EU will work together with the future government in Ankara to further enhance the EU-Turkey partnership "and cooperation across all areas," according to the statement.

Immigration is a key area because Turkey is the source of hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, most of them from Syria, streaming into the EU.  European leaders hope that Turkey will play a bigger role in stemming the flow of refugees and migrants into Europe and combat the Islamic State group in Syria.

While the Commission statement made no mention of human rights abuses and restrictions on media outlets during the election campaign, the international observers said that "serious concerns remain". 

Ignacio Sanchez Amor, special co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission said in a separate statement on OSCE website that "while Turkish citizens could choose between genuine and strong political alternatives in this highly polarized election, the rapidly diminishing choice of media outlets, and restrictions on freedom of expression in general, impacted the process."

"Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the southeast, further imposed restrictions on the ability to campaign," Sanchez Amor said.