World | Other World Stories
Turkey's AK party prepares for post-ban scenario
Turkey's ruling party has begun to expect that the Constitutional Court will close it down in the next few months and ban the prime minister from politics, and is now searching for a way to hold onto power.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:16 May 19, 2008
- Tayyip Erdogan (left) with Abdullah Gul during a party meeting in Ankara in 2003.
- Image Credit: Reuters
Ankara: Turkey's ruling party has begun to expect that the Constitutional Court will close it down in the next few months and ban the prime minister from politics, and is now searching for a way to hold onto power, senior party members said.
Turkey was plunged into political turmoil in March when the Constitutional Court accepted a case by the Court of Appeals' chief prosecutor, who seeks the closure of the AK Party.
He also wants 71 party members banned, including President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, over accusations they breached Turkey's secular constitution by supporting Islamist activities.
After weeks of upbeat statements, the Islamist-rooted AK Party now believes its chances for survival are bleak, and has begun planning how to return to power as a new movement. "The AK Party will be closed, Erdogan is expected to be banned and some other members too," a government minister, who declined to be named, said. "This view is shared by many in the cabinet."
Another senior AK Party member agreed, adding that there was a high possibility that Gul, who was elected by parliament last year, would also be banned from belonging to a political party for five years. As Gul is president, any ban would take effect only once his term ends.
No comments
"I'm very worried for Turkey's future, but our fate lies in the hands of the 11 judges and we can only predict what they will decide," the senior AK Party member, who declined to be named, said."The mood is very dark in the party."
The court has not commented, apart from criticising those who have sought to exert pressure.
The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has criticised the case, saying that the kind of charges raised by the chief prosecutor should be debated in parliament and decided through the ballot box, not in the courtroom.
Turkish financial markets have been hit, with analysts seeing months of instability and a threat to political and economic reforms.
The Constitutional Court, which sees it as its duty to defend the secular principles of the republic, may rule on the case as early as July, senior AK Party members said.
"We would then form a new party," a senior party member said.
There are a number of possibilities open for the AK Party and its leaders, were the court to rule against them.
Party executives are currently working on creating a new political party, the AK Party sources said.
If Erdogan and a large number of MPs are banned, a new parliamentary election is most likely. The MPs, including Erdogan, would then run as independent candidates and, once elected, create a new party under another name, sources said.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Al Qaida returns to Manhattan
Trial in US federal court would be just the theatre Khalid Shaikh Mohammad wants
-
Obama's Tibet test
The US president's snub of the Dalai Lama could embolden China
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
