Amid controversy over a report published by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe on Turkey's constitutional referendum, a new report has revealed that one of the observers of the delegation was charged with bribery in his native Lithuania.
According to a news piece by Lithuanian news agency ELTA, the former 2nd secretary at the Lithuanian embassy in Belarus took bribes from various companies to accelerate the issue of entry visas in neighboring countries.
The debate regarding the legitimacy of the report, which said that the referendum process in Turkey "fell short of international standards," started after photos of one of the observers, Andrej Hunko surfaced, showing him posing with terrorist PKK banners. The fact that another observer, Ričardas Ramoška is allegedly a bribery convict has cast more shadow over the legitimacy and objectivity of the report.
Sunday's referendum resulted in a 51.41 percent victory for the "yes" campaign, heralding the adoption of an 18-article bill that includes provisions for an executive presidency. Official results are yet to be announced.
