ISTANBUL -Turkey's ruling AK Party tried yesterday to quash growing media speculation about a possible early parliamentary election as it faces being closed on charges of Islamist activities.
Constitutional Court judges will begin discussing on Monday whether to shut the Islamist-rooted party for allegedly attempting to introduce Islamic rule in the predominantly Muslim but officially secular state.
Prosecutors also seek to ban prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 69 other leading AK Party figures from party membership for five years. The party rejects the charges.
If the court closes the party and bans its leading members, commentators say the most likely scenario would be for an early parliamentary election, possibly as soon as November.
Amid the growing speculation, reporters asked the head of Turkey's High Election Board yesterday if elections could be held in 2008, from a technical viewpoint.
"Our preparations for elections are complete . . . we have the ballot papers for parliamentary elections," board chairman Muammer Aydin said. Local elections are scheduled for March 2009.
His comments drew a quick response from government ministers. "The chairman was speaking about a theoretical possibility. There is no election on Turkey's agenda," deputy prime minister Cemil Cicek told reporters.
Mr Erdogan's AK Party, which first came to power in 2002, won a sweeping victory in a parliamentary election last July. The next election is scheduled for 2011.
The political climate has been further unsettled by a case involving what a prosecutor says is a shadowy, ultra-nationalist group that sought to overthrow the government by force.
A court agreed yesterday to hear the case against 86 people accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the government. - (Reuters)