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Turkey's Ruling Party Leading Elections
Jul 22 01:14 PM US/Eastern
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's Islamic-rooted ruling party was headed for victory Sunday with more than half the votes counted in parliamentary elections that pitted the government against opponents warning of a threat to secular traditions.
With 56 percent of votes counted, the ruling Justice and Development Party won 48.5 percent and two secular opposition parties had 18.8 percent and 14.7 percent respectively, according to results on television news channels.
CNN-Turk television predicted that the ruling party would secure a majority of 334 seats in the 550-member Parliament after all the votes were counted. It based its projection on a survey of 400 polling stations.
"We are doing very well throughout Turkey," said Nevzat Cetinkaya, deputy chairman of the ruling party.
The contest was viewed as pivotal in determining the balance between Islam and secularism in this nation of more than 70 million.
Many people cut short vacations to head home to cast their ballots, and lines at some polling stations were long, with people voting early to avoid the summer heat. In Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, traffic jammed some main roads and police officers stood guard outside the gates of schools serving as polling stations.
The new Parliament faces a host of challenges, including a presidential election, violence by Kurdish rebels and a growing divide over the role of Islam in society.
"My biggest concern is security. I voted for a party which, I believe, will end terrorism and provide security for our citizens," said Remzi Ekinci, a civil servant. He declined to identify his choice because he works for the government.
Turkey has made big strides after the economic and political chaos of past decades, but some feared the vote could deepen divisions in the mostly Muslim nation. The three-month campaign was peaceful, however.
After casting his vote, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed for national unity and criticized parties that he said tried to make gains through negative campaigning, Dogan news agency reported.
"We are the strongest advocates of a democratic, secular, social state governed by the rule of law," Erdogan said. "I call on all leaders not to close their doors. Let's get around a table and discuss the problems of Turkey's democracy and make the rule of law reign."
Fourteen parties and 700 independent candidates were competing for a total of 42.5 million eligible voters. Voting is compulsory in Turkey, though fines for failing to vote are rarely imposed and turnout was 79 percent in elections in 2002.
Nevzat Yukselen, an election official, said the nationwide process was smooth. There were a few reports of scattered violence, but no fatalities.
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Good item.
I heard a report on radio which suggested that the government isn't in a position to enforce its nomination for president and it will have to negotiate with one of the secular parties and/or the Kurdish party in the parliament. On top of that apparently the Army is fiercely defensive of the secular constutition and won't countenance a religious party moving Turkey in an avowedly Islamist direction. I hope it remains thus.
As far as the Kurdish areas in Iraq are concerned, it's apparent that Turkey is looking at the reality of the situation. It seems that they suspect that partitioning of Iraq is a reality and given the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi govt I don't blame them.
Unless a 'strong man' comes about, looks like Turkey is going Islamicist.
I don't think I was arguing for interference from anyone. More an observation. Just another click for a movement towards a world war down the line.I'm conflicted really. If the people want to go there, then what right do any of us outside of Turkey have to interfere? It's definitely undesirable. I am completly opposed to a mix of religion and politics in any case but a shift to an Islamicist government in Turkey (or anywhere else for that matter) is obviously undesirable. They're not there yet though. The government is still described as "moderate" and as I said before, I think the Army would step in and sort it out if it tried to go too far down that path.
I get the feeling though that some of this Islamic resurgence in Turkish politics is a reaction to the west. And I'm not referring just to Iraq. I think it goes back further than that. Remember Turkey is still waiting for entry to the EU and some in the EU are opposing their membership, mainly on the basis of the refusal of Turkey to admit to the Armenan genocide and some other human rights issues of a more contemporary nature. I would think that this would help spread resentment among the people in Turkey, not just the government.
I think we should pull them closer to us. The EU should get over itself and bring them in lest they decide that their future is really with political Islam.
I don't think I was arguing for interference from anyone. More an observation. Just another click for a movement towards a world war down the line.
No, you weren't and I didn't mean to give that impression, that was my thought, I was extrapolating from other foreign policy decisions in the recent past.
I don't think we're heading for a world war, but we are a world at war and I think we have been since we climbed out of the swamp (memo all Creationists, please don't bombard me yet, it was a figure of speech). Turkey though is a bellwether I think. If they really do go Islamicist then it will be a bad thing. They're no pushover, we need them on the side of the west. I know, statement of the bleedin' obvious.
Turkey will wait for an extremely long time to get into the EU, if France and Germany get their way, and they will. The reasons cited above for not admitting Turkey to the EU are valid enough, but you missed the main reason. France and Germany do not want 80 million Turks to have the ability to easily cross EU borders to seek work outside their home country. Thereby plunging the current average EU value of labor and creating economic dislocation. No government in France or Germany that permitted such a thing to happen would ever survive at the polls. Turkey can forget about getting into the EU anytime within the next 20 years. A more salient question is whether Turkey will remain in NATO. The Turks are essentially worthless as a NATO partner, given the fact that most future NATO deployments are likely to be in the Middle East or South Asia. For example, Turkey currently has a few troops supporting the NATO mission in Afghanistan, but they are unwilling to send more, and they refuse to let the Turk troops already in Afghanistan deploy to the south of the country to fight the Taliban. What good are they as a member of NATO? As a member of NATO, will Turkey be allowed to invade northern Iraq so it can kill Kurds? There are important issues that must be overcome if Turkey is to gain admittance to the EU. But in the nearer term, the question whether Turkey can remain a viable member of NATO is more pressing. As it is now, Turkey wants access to US military hardware (such as their current orders for F-16s and F-35s), but they are unwilling to perform the Afghan combat role necessary for NATO credibility and cohesion. Then again, France or Germany are also unwilling to fulfill combat roles in Afghanistan.Remember Turkey is still waiting for entry to the EU and some in the EU are opposing their membership, mainly on the basis of the refusal of Turkey to admit to the Armenan genocide and some other human rights issues of a more contemporary nature. I would think that this would help spread resentment among the people in Turkey, not just the government.
I think we should pull them closer to us. The EU should get over itself and bring them in lest they decide that their future is really with political Islam.
Unless a 'strong man' comes about, looks like Turkey is going Islamicist.
just great another islamic government that will probably want sharia.
