Turkish court declares poll invalid
Turkish court declares poll invalid
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 and Reuters
Published: April 30 2007 11:35 | Last updated: May 1 2007 16:55
Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared invalid the first round of a controversial presidential election.
“A decision was taken to stop the process,” Hasim Kilic, deputy head of the top court, told a news conference. The court’s rulings are binding and cannot be appealed against.
Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, could now propose a different candidate for the top job, but most analysts say he is more likely to postpone the presidential poll and call a snap parliamentary election to help defuse tensions.
Turkey’s financial markets remained nervous on Tuesday ahead of the decision.
Stocks and the lira were slightly weaker, although there was no repeat of the sharp sell-off seen on Monday. Mr Erdogan, and Ali Babacan, the chief minister responsible for the economy, both appealed for calm.
Mr Babacan, in an interview on Turkish television on Tuesday, acknowledged that political risk factors had risen for investors in the Turkish markets after a clash at the weekend between the military and the government over the credentials of Mr Gul as Turkey’s next president.
Mr Erdogan said in a televised address to the nation on Monday night that any threat to Turkey’s economic and political stability must be rejected.
“Unity, togetherness, solidarity – these are the things we need,” Mr Erdogan said.
His address was recorded on Saturday, hours after the military issued what is seen as an ultimatum to the Islamist-rooted government to drop Mr Gul as its presidential candidate.
Citing his government’s reform record, which has seen the economy expand by about a third since 2002, Mr Erdogan said: “Turkey must preserve this climate of stability and peace.
“We must be careful not to harm the climate of stability we have reached. We must consider it our duty to reach the goals of our republic.”
The prime minister made no explicit reference to the crisis that engulfed the country after the military’s demarche late on Friday. He was meeting senior members of his ruling Justice and Development party late on Monday night before the constitutional court decision.
Business leaders and economists said a general election was the only way to ease the country out of a crisis that has exposed deep divisions between the secular elite and the government. Mr Erdogan and Mr Gul reject accusations that they want to undermine the country’s secular constitutional system.
Tusiad, a big-business lobby group, said: “By going to the Turkish people for elections Turkey will come out healthier from these tense days.”
Financial markets fell as investors sought to clarify what Turkey’s descent into crisis might mean. The stock market reacted badly initially on Monday but later steadied. Stocks closed 4 per cent lower after being down 8 per cent at one stage. Benchmark bond yields widened by about 90 basis points. Turkey has attracted record foreign investment inflows in the past two years.
Mahmut Kaya, head of research at Garanti Securities, said: “A lot of investors are trying to understand what is going on in Turkey and whether it will alter the outlook dramatically.”
By Vincent Boland in Ankara
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 and Reuters
Published: April 30 2007 11:35 | Last updated: May 1 2007 16:55
Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday declared invalid the first round of a controversial presidential election.
“A decision was taken to stop the process,” Hasim Kilic, deputy head of the top court, told a news conference. The court’s rulings are binding and cannot be appealed against.
Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, could now propose a different candidate for the top job, but most analysts say he is more likely to postpone the presidential poll and call a snap parliamentary election to help defuse tensions.
Turkey’s financial markets remained nervous on Tuesday ahead of the decision.
Stocks and the lira were slightly weaker, although there was no repeat of the sharp sell-off seen on Monday. Mr Erdogan, and Ali Babacan, the chief minister responsible for the economy, both appealed for calm.
Mr Babacan, in an interview on Turkish television on Tuesday, acknowledged that political risk factors had risen for investors in the Turkish markets after a clash at the weekend between the military and the government over the credentials of Mr Gul as Turkey’s next president.
Mr Erdogan said in a televised address to the nation on Monday night that any threat to Turkey’s economic and political stability must be rejected.
“Unity, togetherness, solidarity – these are the things we need,” Mr Erdogan said.
His address was recorded on Saturday, hours after the military issued what is seen as an ultimatum to the Islamist-rooted government to drop Mr Gul as its presidential candidate.
Citing his government’s reform record, which has seen the economy expand by about a third since 2002, Mr Erdogan said: “Turkey must preserve this climate of stability and peace.
“We must be careful not to harm the climate of stability we have reached. We must consider it our duty to reach the goals of our republic.”
The prime minister made no explicit reference to the crisis that engulfed the country after the military’s demarche late on Friday. He was meeting senior members of his ruling Justice and Development party late on Monday night before the constitutional court decision.
Business leaders and economists said a general election was the only way to ease the country out of a crisis that has exposed deep divisions between the secular elite and the government. Mr Erdogan and Mr Gul reject accusations that they want to undermine the country’s secular constitutional system.
Tusiad, a big-business lobby group, said: “By going to the Turkish people for elections Turkey will come out healthier from these tense days.”
Financial markets fell as investors sought to clarify what Turkey’s descent into crisis might mean. The stock market reacted badly initially on Monday but later steadied. Stocks closed 4 per cent lower after being down 8 per cent at one stage. Benchmark bond yields widened by about 90 basis points. Turkey has attracted record foreign investment inflows in the past two years.
Mahmut Kaya, head of research at Garanti Securities, said: “A lot of investors are trying to understand what is going on in Turkey and whether it will alter the outlook dramatically.”
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home