Ecevit sparks alarm with poll talk

Ecevit made his first public speech in two months

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit made an already nervous financial market jittery when he seemed to call for early elections in his first speech in two months -- only to backtrack afterwards.

The 77-year-old, who has been in hospital or recuperating at home with a string of ailments, made an often breathless and rambling 15-minute speech to members of his Democratic Left Party (DSP) on Thursday.

Often he seemed to get his words confused, The Associated Press reported, and at one stage apologised for having "been working in an environment where conversation is limited."

Business confidence has fallen since Ecevit fell ill in April with intestinal problems, a vein infection, a cracked rib and a spinal injury, adding to the country's year of instability.

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The country is going through a difficult period, trying to get its finances in order to repay its international debt to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and attempting to gain entry to the European Union.

The prime minister, who holds together an increasingly divided three-party coalition, told the meeting he did not want elections but added they had "appeared on the horizon."

"Therefore I see great benefit in our deputies travelling out in to the villages in the summer months and spending their time there."

But later outside his home he told journalists that he had been misunderstood.

"We are definitely not considering early elections," he was reported by Reuters as saying.

"An election before April 2004 (when parliament's mandate expires) is out of the question."

The Turkish lira dipped from 1,600,000 to the dollar to 1,618,000 on Ecevit saying an election was "on the horizon" before returning to earlier levels on the back of the retraction.

Both the lira and stock markets have hit year lows in the past few days.

Observers say markets are nervous about an election because there is no obvious candidate to replace Ecevit or his shaky-three party coalition.

Ecevit's DSP is the main member of the coalition which also includes the rightist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and the conservative Motherland Party (ANAP).

A split already exists in the coalition on reforms to qualify for EU membership talks.

The MHP opposes any easing of restrictions on the use of the Kurdish language and an abolition of the death penalty in case it reignites the separatist conflict in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country.

Opposition parties called for Ecevit to resign following his speech.

Tansu Ciller, head of the centre-right True Path Party was reported by AP as saying: "Ecevit's time to bid farewell to the nation has come and is even overdue."

Abdullah Gul, a politician from the opposition pro-Islamic Justice and Development party, welcomed the possibility of early elections.

"Ecevit had realised that the early election process had (already) started," he was quoted as saying.

"This is a fact. The earlier, the better."