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LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN TURKEY: WHAT TO EXPECT
EurActiv, Belgium
http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/leg islative-elections-turkey-expect/article-165627
Ju ly 18 2007
On 22 July 2007, Turkish voters will renew the 550 members of the Grand
National Assembly, the only chamber of Parliament. A Robert Schuman
Foundation paper reviews the main issues in the general election -
coming four months early following Parliament's failure to elect a
successor to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
The favourite is the Justice and Development party (AKP), led by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who insists on the need to win
two thirds of the seats in the Grand National Assembly. According to
the paper, the remaining doubts are the extent of the victory, and the
number of parties that will win seats in Parliament. The outcome of
these legislative elections will influence the forthcoming election
of the next head of state - by indirect suffrage.
The Justice and Development Party's campaign is centred on the need
for stability in Turkey, arguing that this is only possible under a
government built around one single political party. Its objectives
include boosting relations with neighbouring states, enhancing the
country's regional position, turning Turkey into a world player,
undertaking active diplomacy in the Cypriot conflict and continuing
negotiations to take Turkey towards membership of the EU.
The Prime Minister, in office for the past five years, is relying
on his social and economic results for these general elections. The
excellent economic results in the first quarter of 2007 can only
help support the government, states the paper. The AKP has received
the support of the spiritual leader of the Armenians in Turkey - who
considers the Justice and Development party to be the most moderate
and least nationalist - and Christian communities in Turkey, which
used to support the People's Republican Party but now accuse it of
being nationalist, notes the author.
According to the paper, the opposition is very fragmented. The People's
Republican Party, a centre-left party, is running a campaign centred
on education, healthcare and prosperity; The Just Way Party (DP) is
a centre-right party and promises a constitutional review in order
to ensure better rights for civil society, judicial independence
and press freedom. The paper also mentions the Mother Country Party
(ANTAVAN) - a centre-right party - and the National Action Party
(MHP), an extremely nationalist movement led by Devlet Baceli.
Accession to the EU has not really been addressed during the electoral
campaign, notes the paper. However, attacks by the Kurdish Workers'
Party (PKK) in the south-east of the country are in the news, and
popular demonstrations against the violence have revealed slogans at
many rallies accusing the Justice and Development party of working
with the Kurdish Workers' Party, notes the paper.
Robert Schuman Foundation: General Elections in Turkey, A Round Up
One Week before the Vote
EurActiv, Belgium
http://www.euractiv.com/en/enlargement/leg islative-elections-turkey-expect/article-165627
Ju ly 18 2007
On 22 July 2007, Turkish voters will renew the 550 members of the Grand
National Assembly, the only chamber of Parliament. A Robert Schuman
Foundation paper reviews the main issues in the general election -
coming four months early following Parliament's failure to elect a
successor to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
The favourite is the Justice and Development party (AKP), led by
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who insists on the need to win
two thirds of the seats in the Grand National Assembly. According to
the paper, the remaining doubts are the extent of the victory, and the
number of parties that will win seats in Parliament. The outcome of
these legislative elections will influence the forthcoming election
of the next head of state - by indirect suffrage.
The Justice and Development Party's campaign is centred on the need
for stability in Turkey, arguing that this is only possible under a
government built around one single political party. Its objectives
include boosting relations with neighbouring states, enhancing the
country's regional position, turning Turkey into a world player,
undertaking active diplomacy in the Cypriot conflict and continuing
negotiations to take Turkey towards membership of the EU.
The Prime Minister, in office for the past five years, is relying
on his social and economic results for these general elections. The
excellent economic results in the first quarter of 2007 can only
help support the government, states the paper. The AKP has received
the support of the spiritual leader of the Armenians in Turkey - who
considers the Justice and Development party to be the most moderate
and least nationalist - and Christian communities in Turkey, which
used to support the People's Republican Party but now accuse it of
being nationalist, notes the author.
According to the paper, the opposition is very fragmented. The People's
Republican Party, a centre-left party, is running a campaign centred
on education, healthcare and prosperity; The Just Way Party (DP) is
a centre-right party and promises a constitutional review in order
to ensure better rights for civil society, judicial independence
and press freedom. The paper also mentions the Mother Country Party
(ANTAVAN) - a centre-right party - and the National Action Party
(MHP), an extremely nationalist movement led by Devlet Baceli.
Accession to the EU has not really been addressed during the electoral
campaign, notes the paper. However, attacks by the Kurdish Workers'
Party (PKK) in the south-east of the country are in the news, and
popular demonstrations against the violence have revealed slogans at
many rallies accusing the Justice and Development party of working
with the Kurdish Workers' Party, notes the paper.
Robert Schuman Foundation: General Elections in Turkey, A Round Up
One Week before the Vote