Early elections still an option in Turkey

09/05/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has completed meetings with his MPs designed to gauge their reaction to the ongoing party closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). At a news conference Thursday (May 8th), AKP official Nihat Ergun said that many MPs advised the party to pursue early elections, perhaps in August, contingent on the outcome of the lawsuit filed to shut down their party. He said he backs early elections, noting that if parliament cannot find a way out of the political crisis, early elections will become inevitable. Last week, Erdogan ruled out moving either the local or general elections up.

Weighing in late Wednesday, Chief of the General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit said Turkey should avoid the polarisation developing among the public. (Zaman - 09/05/08; Cihan, NTV - 08/05/08)