Recommendations • In order to ensure fair representation and enable a pluralistic political life and parliament, Article 33 of Law No. 2839 should be amended to abolish the 10% electoral threshold; • Article 76 of the Constitution should be amended to lower the age to be elected from 25 to 18; • Necessary legal regulations should be adopted to open the decisions of the SBE for judicial review; • Article 7 of Law No. 298 on the Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Registries should be amended to allow convicted prisoners to vote; • Provisions should be adopted under Article 33 of Law No. 298 on the Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Registries, to allow for the homeless, those living in women shelters, nursing homes and homes for persons with disabilities to be included in the voter registry; • Citizens whose names have been deleted from the voter registries or those who have been newly registered should be officially notified; • Voter registries should be reorganized to include the ages and disability information of citizens. The polling stations should then be assigned based on this information; • Mentally disabled individuals should be given the right to vote regardless of whether they have been appointed a guardian; • Article 52 of Law No. 298 on the Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Registries should be amended to eliminate those provisions creating inequality between political parties and independent candidates in terms of the propaganda periods each are allowed to have; • Article 26 of Law No. 2839 on The Parliamentary Elections, which includes provisions on the form of ballots, should be amended to ensure equality between political parties and independent candidates; • The article in Law No. 2839 on The Parliamentary Elections, which sets forth the conditions of state aid to political parties for electioneering purposes, should be amended to allow all political parties to benefit from state aid depending on the share of votes they have received; • Voter education should be carried out in all languages spoken in Turkey. The opinions of NGOs who work with disadvantaged voter groups should be collected when preparing the relevant materials; • Due to their role in the Overseas Voting Process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also be appointed an independent Minister in addition to the other three ministries by making an amendment in Article 114 of the Constitution; • Legal arrangements should be made to allow voters living abroad to be able to use their right to be elected; • • Ballot boxes should be set up in all countries for overseas voters and in a greater number of centres. Ballot boxes where only a few voters are registered and where their votes can be associated with them, should be joined with the nearest ballot boxes; • Factors that prevent disadvantaged groups from voting and being elected should be eliminated; policies and laws should be devised to encourage the right to vote and be elected; • In legal regulations regarding freedom of expression and association, arrangements should be made to allow for the effective exercise of the right to vote and be elected; 27