By Pietro Andrea Podda

pietro.podda@pragueforum.cz

The Embassy of the Republic of Türkiye in the Czech Republic, under the auspices of the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, has organised a Panel Discussion on “INFORMATION SECURITY IN ELECTION PROCESSES IN THE WORLD”. The prestigious event has been held at the Corinthia Hotel and has been attended by a selected audience composed mainly by other diplomats in service in Prague, journalists, business top managers and representatives of NGOs.  His Excellency Egemen Bagis, has offered an opening speech where he has reaffirmed the centrality of Democracy and the importance of the availability of fair and trustworthy information.

Presidential elections will be held in a number of countries in 2023, including the Republic of Türkiye and the Czech Republic. Both countries have followed a democratic path, with Türkiye being a place where Democracy and Islam co-exist. Unfortunately, the regularity and fairness of the democratic process is often marred by disinformation, which may amount to the spread of distorted, misleading or blatantly fake information. His Excellency Bagis has quoted the late Czech President Havel who said that “People are manipulated in ways that are infinitely more subtle and refined than the brutal methods used in post-totalitarian societies.”

The Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye has started a number of panels dedicated to “Information Security in Election Processes in the World” and aims at highlighting the importance of fair and correct information and the damages that distortive propaganda may create. Prague has been chosen as the city where the first panel has been held.

The discussion has been moderated by Associate Professor Dr. Kılıç Buğra Kanat from Penn State University, the panellists have been Ambassador Štefan Füle, Former EU Commissioner and EU Minister of the Czech Republic , Prof. Özden Zeynep Oktav – İstanbul Medeniyet (Civilization) University, Dr. Veselín Vackov, PhD – Director, Lidové Noviny Daily and Mr. Thomas Kulidakis, Political commentator and correspondent for Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean of Právo Daily