|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Countdown begins to Turkey vote
ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's election campaign is entering its final stage, with the two frontrunners battling to win over the vast numbers of undecided voters who hold the key to power in the country. Party chiefs are studying feedback from the public on Monday following a weekend debate between the head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Recep Erdogan, and his rival Deniz Baykal, the leader of the social democrat Republican People's Party (CHP). But neither side is widely seen to have bettered the other during the televised head-to-head. "Both leaders are famous for their aggressiveness," columnist Gungor Uras wrote in the Milliyet daily newspaper. "But just before polls, to show they are ready to make any kind of compromise to be together, they were unexpectedly calm and tolerant." And unlike many western nations, Turkey lacks efficient snap opinion polls that could evaluate who won the most points during the debate. Months of political wrangling and alleged economic mismanagement has seen support for the government of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit crumble. The ailing 77-year-old prime minister faces electoral wipe-out in the early elections forced upon him after his government saw its absolute majority disappear with the resignation of about 60 politicians. A speech delivered by Ecevit three days ago also heightened fears his health is deteriorating further. (Full story)
The AKP, which is reviled by the secularist establishment for its Islamist roots, remains far ahead in surveys ahead of Sunday's vote. But Turkish polls are won and lost in the last days when the large numbers of undecided voters finally make their choice and the election could produce surprises, Reuters reports. Although they are politically far apart, both the AKP and CHP are close on big issues such as the crisis-racked economy, Turkey's desire to join the European Union and participation in any U.S. strike against Iraq. Erdogan will doubtless hold on to his support in the provincial Anatolian heartland amongst millions disillusioned by traditional parties and embittered by years of economic crisis. Baykal's CHP, the only mainstream party regularly polling above the 10 percent barrier for entry to parliament, will remain the main "life raft" for those who fear the AKP, Reuters said. Markets have become more sympathetic to AKP as it works to shake off its Islamist image and convince the world that it is a modern, pro-Western, pro-market party. But still they would want to see the CHP in government and with it the man who negotiated Turkey's $16 billion IMF crisis pact -- economy minister Kemal Dervis, who they see as the best guarantee that interest rates will fall rapidly after the election, easing the huge burden of domestic and foreign debt. Dervis resigned in August from Ecevit's crippled coalition, saying he would seek to unite Turkey's divided centre-left parties and defeat the AKP. Erdogan has been banned from the elections following a 1990s conviction for Islamist sedition. He also served four months in jail, but although he cannot join a government, he would remain the force behind the scenes if AKP won the polls, according to Reuters. Last week, the state prosecutor applied to have AKP banned and the action may take up to a year. (Full story) Analysts say the case could be a blow to the AKP. "Its effect, at least in the short term, will be political," one Ankara diplomat told Reuters. Despite Turkey being predominantly Muslim -- 99 percent of the population are Muslim -- Erdogan has deliberately played down the religious credentials of his party. He says he has become more moderate. "I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago," he told CNN. Reuters contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
