Posted on 12/27/2002 9:25:40 AM PST by knighthawk
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament voted in the early hours of Friday to amend the constitution to clear the way for ruling party leader Tayyip Erdogan to run in a by-election as a first step to becoming prime minister.
Erdogan was banned from standing in a November 3 general election in which his Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a landslide victory and became the first single party government in 15 years.
He was unable to take office because of a jail sentence in 1999 for inciting religious hatred by reading a poem.
It was the second time parliament had voted to change the constitution, defying a veto imposed on the first vote by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who argued that the law could not be fashioned to suit one person alone.
Sezer cannot block the parliamentary decision again, but if he is determined to halt Erdogan's path to power, he could challenge the changes in the Constitutional Court or call a referendum -- moves which would unnerve financial markets.
Erdogan, a former Istanbul mayor, is highly popular among the electorate but is still viewed with deep suspicion by secularists in Muslim Turkey who fear his party is hiding an Islamist agenda.
The AKP styles itself as a conservative, democratic party and rejects an Islamist label. It says EU membership is one of its top goals.
The bill was passed by 437 votes in the 550-seat assembly with 44 against, easily mustering the two-thirds majority required by law.
Sezer may be deterred from taking any action because the changes were supported not only by the ruling AKP but also by the only opposition party in parliament, the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP).
The CHP views the amendments as part of Turkey's drive to improve its human rights and political laws to further its bid to join the European Union.
URGENT REFORMS NEEDED
Turkey can little do with the sort of political tension that might result from an extended clash between the government and the president. The government is in the midst of debating the extent of support it may offer the United States in the event of a war against Turkey's neighbour Iraq, and a host of economic and political reforms need urgent attention.
NATO member Turkey is currently implementing a $16 billion IMF rescue programme aimed at overcoming last year's financial crisis that was triggered by an argument between Sezer and then Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in February 2001.
If the parliamentary vote wins through, the changes would clear the way for Erodogan to stand in a by-election in February. Once he has a seat in parliament, he would then be eligible to take over the post of prime minister.
Erdogan could stand in a by-election in the province of Siirt on February 9. The election result was annulled there due to voting irregularities.
World leaders have treated Erdogan as Turkey's de facto leader during his visits to European capitals and Washington. Before the November election, the EU criticised Erdogan's exclusion from the ballot as running counter to the spirit of recent human rights reforms.
Erdogan's AKP deputy, Abdullah Gul, is currently serving as prime minister. He would step down to make way for Erdogan.
Sezer is a staunch secularist who as a Constitutional Court judge was among those who supported banning one of the AKP's predecessors, the Welfare Party, after it was driven from power in 1997.
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.