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| Europe |
| Centre-right parties fail to unite ahead of Turkish polls |
| 2007-06-03 |
| A deal to merge Turkey's two main centre-right parties ahead of elections on July 22 failed over the weekend with the Motherland Party pulling out of the deal. With parties in Turkey needing to pass a 10-per-cent threshold before being allowed to win any seats in parliament the proposed merger of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party into a new Democrat Party was seen as an attempt to ensure votes for centre- right parties were not wasted. The deal came unstuck when ANAP failed to dissolve itself at the end of a party congress held in Ankara. In particular, ANAP leader Erkan Mumcu was angry over the inclusion of former prime minister Mesut Yilmaz as a parliamentary candidate for the new Democrat Party. "A great opportunity for Turkey has been missed," Mumcu told supporters Sunday. It appeared that ANAP and the new Democrat Party will now both compete in the elections with the chances high that both parties will fail to pass the 10-per-cent threshold. Early elections were called last month after parliament failed to elect a new president. The two main centre-left parties have already agreed to run on a single ticket, while the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party has decided to run its candidates as independents in order to get around the threshold barrier. The failed presidential election that led to the early parliamentary poll has pitted the governing Islamist-rooted AK Party against those who believe that the AK party's candidate for the position, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, would be a threat to Turkey's secular laws and traditions. Millions have taken to the streets around the country protesting Gul's candidacy. In addition to banners supporting secularism, one of the main calls by the crowds was for parties to unite in opposition to the AK party. The staunchly-secular military has also weighed into the debate saying it was prepared to intervene if the secular state is seen to be under threat. Having removed four governments in the past 50 years, the military statement was seen as a real threat to the administration. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |