TURKEY: An early election date vote in the Turkish parliament meets with approval on streets of Istanbul

Record ID: 863991

  • Title: TURKEY: An early election date vote in the Turkish parliament meets with approval on streets of Istanbul
  • Date: 3rd May 2007
  • Summary: EDITOR IN CHIEF OF DAILY NEWSPAPER "SABAH" ERGUN BABAHAN WORKING IN HIS OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 18th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • City:
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEH795OUN7J6YXIP7L06D8I48G
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  • Story Text: Turkey's parliament on Thursday (May 3) voted to hold early elections on July 22 to try to end a stand-off between secularists and ex-Islamists that has exposed deep political faultlines in the EU candidate nation.
    The Turkish parliament is hoping that staging the poll four months earlier than planned will defuse the row between the ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party and the secular establishment, including the powerful army, over a presidential election that will now be postponed.
    "I am optimistic. These kind of things can't go along with force. The minority, in another words a government with 34 percent of votes, is trying to do something by ignoring 70 percent of the population. Thus it (elections) will be good for us," said Istanbul resident, Cem Toron.
    The Islamist-rooted AK Party is widely expected to win the general election. Since sweeping to power in 2002, it has presided over strong economic growth and the launch of historic European Union membership talks.
    "Most people that will go together with secularist party are against the EU. And those people who wants to have an islamic way of life or who are more conservative than rest of the society actually vote for a party which support EU process. So Turkey is just in the middle of changing times," Editor in chief of Sabah newspaper, Ergun Babahan, told Reuters television.
    The European Union, which opened entry talks with Ankara in 2005, has also hailed the early poll decision. It has been especially worried by a terse statement last week from the military threatening to intervene in the presidential election.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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