TURKEY: Turkey's electoral board yesterday banned a moderate Islamist leader from running in November's general election because of a past conviction.
The decision delivered a major blow to Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party and destroyed the former Istanbul mayor's hopes of becoming prime minister.
"The board decided by a majority of votes to reject Erdogan's application to stand in the elections on the grounds that he is not eligible to do so," Turkey's electoral board said.
The board's decision ended months of debate about whether he could run in the general election, despite a past conviction on sedition charges.
Mr Erdogan (48), whose opposition Justice and Development Party (AK), was leading in opinion polls, described the decision as a blow to democracy: "This a day that will leave its mark on the history of Turkish democracy. But he added:"No one should despair; this wrong decision will be corrected" on election day.
His televised speech was often interrupted by loud applause from supporters packing the hall, who chanted "Turkey is proud of you" and "Prime Minister Tayyip".
Mr Erdogan served four months in jail in 1999 for "inciting religious hatred" after reciting a poem with Islamist undertones at a political rally.
Under Turkish electoral rules, his conviction bars him from running in elections.
He had challenged these rules, citing recent changes in the Turkish penal code.
In his attempt to run, he won an initial court decision expunging his criminal record, but this ruling was overturned by the appeals court on Monday.
The electoral board justified its decision by saying those convicted of sedition could not run in polls even if they were amnestied.
The decision is a major setback for the AK party, which is now expected to decide whether to go to the elections with Mr Erdogan still at the helm or to replace him.
Even if Mr Erdogan stays on as the AK chairman, he has no chance of becoming prime minister should his party come to power with 25 per cent of the vote, as suggested by recent polls. A prime minister must also be a member of parliament.
Mr Erdogan's clear lead in the polls has been a cause of widespread concern in this predominantly Muslim country where the powerful army is apt to crack down on Islamists to protect the secular state system.
Mr Erdogan is a former member of the now-defunct Welfare Party, which was led by Mr Necmettin Erbakan, who became modern Turkey's first Islamist prime minister in 1996 but, under pressure from the army, resigned after a stormy year in power.
Mr Erbakan was one of three other candidates banned yesterday, also ostensibly because of sedition charges.
Mr Erdogan, who in the past criticised the secular system, says he has now changed his views and rejects the term "Islamist" used by critics to describe him.
But many in Turkey doubt he has broken with his past.