Turkish
Parliament Meets as Ecevit Seeks to Stop Early Elections
 |
|
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit speaks to deputies of his Democratic Left Party in parliament July 29 |
ANKARA,
July 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Turkish parliament
Monday, July 29, launched a special session to decide whether to hold
early elections as beleaguered Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
desperately sought to drum up opposition to the move.
Just
hours before the session, the 77-year-old Ecevit, who is vehemently
opposed to going to the polls on November 3 almost 18 months early,
called on MPs from his Democratic Left Party (DSP), to vote against
the proposal, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
"I
think we should indicate that we are definitely against early
elections," Ecevit told a DSP meeting.
He
later met Mesut Yilmaz of the Motherland Party (ANAP), the junior
partner in his shaky three-party coalition, to dissuade him from early
polls, but admitted he had failed in his attempt.
"We
discussed whether we can give up on early elections, but it is not
possible," he told reporters.
More
than 400 MPs in the 550-seat legislature attended Monday's general
assembly, far more than is required for a quorum, to begin procedures
to vote on the early election proposal, which has been widely backed
by both the opposition and Ecevit's coalition partners.
Deputy
parliament speaker Murat Sokmenoglu sent the proposal to a
parliamentary commission where it will be debated before a final vote,
expected on Wednesday, July 31, in the general assembly.
Ecevit
reluctantly agreed to bring elections forward from April 2004 after
mass defections wiped out his parliament majority and his senior
coalition ally, the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP),
threatened to quit the government if the vote was postponed.
But
the veteran leader has maintained his opposition to early elections
and at the weekend tried, again unsuccessfully, to convince MHP leader
Devlet Bahceli to delay the polls, leading Turkish newspapers reported
Monday.
Ecevit
told his MPs on Monday that early polls would damage crucial economic
reforms backed by a 16-billion-dollar loan from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), at a time when the economy was showing signs of
improvement.
He
again expressed concern that elections could bring to power a popular
politician with an Islamic background in a move which could
destabilize the mainly Muslim but strictly secular country, AFP said.
He
also warned that the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP)
could surpass the national threshold to win a place in parliament.
"Some
very serious harm could ensue to the foundations of the state system
if an opportunity is now hastily given to these two
institutions," Ecevit said.
Media
speculation was rife on Monday that the Prime Minister could resign in
a last-ditch bid to prevent early elections, but the rumor was quickly
scotched by Ecevit.
"No,
I will not resign," Ecevit told reporters.
Many
see elections as a way out of Turkey's political turmoil which began
in early May 2000 when Ecevit missed official duties due to his ill
health.
The
government also hit a deadlock on democracy reforms which are key if
Turkey is to advance its bid to join the European Union.
The
turmoil in Ankara, a key western ally, has led to unease in Europe and
the United States at a time when Washington is reported to be
preparing a military strike against Turkey's southern neighbor Iraq.
The
general expectation in Ankara is that parliament would begin work on a
package of EU-required reforms after voting on early elections, but
the chances are slim that MPs will stick around for lengthy
legislative work when they will want to be campaigning, AFP said.
ANAP
last week submitted to parliament a draft package of reforms which it
wants to debate before the November polls, but has failed to garner
unconditional opposition support to pass it before November.
Opposition
parties had earlier pledged to back the reforms, but have now set
conditions for their support as part of early campaign moves.
Turkey
fears it will miss a self-imposed target of attaining a date for
opening of EU accession talks by the end of the year and could be left
out of the bloc's enlargement indefinitely if it fails to adopt
reforms.
|
