Danish deputy Sondergaard not allowed to be an observer at Turkish elections

ANKARA — Socialist Red-Green Alliance parliamentarian Soren Sondergaard told Danish public television TV2 that Turkey accused him of “promoting a terrorist organization”.

The Danish deputy was reportedly blocked by Ankara on the grounds that he had visited the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of North and East Syria, in the past.

“It is entirely true that I visited the SDF fighting the Islamic State (ISIS),” Sondergaard declared, adding that he was “proud” of this.

Sondergaard is due to be an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) election observer in Turkey’s upcoming elections.

Sondergaard said the OSCE had lodged a formal complaint with Ankara.

“This casts a shadow over the Turkish elections. They are already demonstrating they want to control them,” he stated.

“It was a misconception that election observers should be objective.” Said Sondergaard. “No parliamentarian is objective. We are not civil servants. It is precisely by way of having different points of view participating that it becomes objective.”

“A country can’t pick and choose the parliamentarians that are serving as observers,” he added.

The popularity of the Justice and Development Party is declining in recent years due to its policies it in the general economic and political field, which contributed to increased inflation and unemployment.