Truth Bearer
07-22-2007, 07:19 PM
July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in Turkey's election, calling the win a boost for democracy in the country, where the secular military is challenging the scope of his Islamic-rooted party's power.
``We've passed an important test of democracy that is an example to the world,'' Erdogan told a cheering crowd of thousands gathered late today below a balcony at his party's headquarters in Ankara. ``The people have pronounced the Justice and Development Party as the central political power in Turkey.''
Erdogan, 53, is poised to secure the largest share of votes in a Turkish election since 1965, giving him a mandate to bring the nation closer to the European Union and weaken the political influence of the military, which moved to block his choice for president three months ago.
The Justice and Development Party led with 47 percent of the vote with 80 percent of ballot boxes counted as of 11:30 p.m. in today's general election, the state-run Anatolia News Agency in Ankara said. A projection by the Istanbul-based Konda research company for the CNN Turk news channel gave the party 334 seats in the 550-seat parliament.
`Them and Us' Gone
Justice and Development's victory ``shows that the `them and us' distinction which was valid in the pre-election period has now been entirely removed,'' said Guler Sabanci, chairwoman of Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS, which controls Akbank, Turkey's biggest company by market value, in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News.
``It is now the party of the center, not only the party of one faction,'' Sabanci said.
Confidence in Turkey's $400 billion economy was shaken in April after Erdogan sought to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a pious Muslim and a longtime confidant, as president in defiance of the military.
The military has traditionally enforced stability in Turkey and the separation of mosque and state, ousting four governments since 1960.
Erdogan said his party wouldn't seek to compromise Turkey's secular principles. ``Our success in the election won't spoil us, it increases our responsibility,'' he told his supporters late today. ``We feel that responsibility on our shoulders.''
Gul Blocked
The Constitutional Court on May 1 blocked Gul's candidacy on a technicality, prompting Erdogan to bring forward the general election from November in a bid to affirm his mandate. If early results hold, Justice and Development will broaden its popular support by as much as 13 percentage points over the 2002 election that brought it to power.
The ISE National-100 stock index in Istanbul surged 12 percent this month on the expectation that Erdogan would retain power. Turkish stocks have soared almost five-fold since his party won the last election. The lira has gained 11 percent against the dollar this year.
``Definitely the market reaction will be positive, but starting from mid-August, we'll be concentrating on the presidential election,'' said Ozgur Altug, chief economist at Raymond James Securities in Istanbul, Turkey's largest brokerage house. ``In order to see a long-term rally in the Turkish financial markets, we need a compromise on the presidential election.''
The process for the next parliament to elect the president is likely to begin in mid-August, based on a preliminary government schedule.
Conservative Majority
Erdogan is backed by Turkey's conservative majority, who want him to end curbs on religious expression as part of steps to join the EU. Erdogan's party may take the most votes since Suleyman Demirel's Justice Party won in 1965 with 53 percent.
The election will also give Erdogan a vote of confidence to push ahead with economic measures that brought record foreign investment of $20 billion last year. The economy has grown for 21 straight quarters, the longest period since Turkey was founded in 1923.
Some of Erdogan's foes, citing what they see as threats to the secular code of the nation's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, say he is trying to bring Iran-like Islamic restrictions to Turkish society. Justice favors lifting the ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in government buildings, and the wives of both Erdogan and Gul wear the covering.
Balance `Shifting'
``The balance of power in Turkey is shifting toward a new Turkey, empowering conservatives who are more open to democracy and the global economy than their secular counterparts,'' said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at the political-risk consulting firm Eurasia Group in London. ``If tension picks up with the military again then I think this new and stronger mandate will certainly help.''
The projection by Konda shows Justice's legislative majority would be reduced from the current 352 seats because of the entry of a third party into parliament.
The Republican People's Party, Erdogan's main political rival, will take about 20 percent, and the Nationalist Action Party will get almost 15 percent, according to the incomplete election results. If those numbers hold, the Nationalists would enter parliament by passing the 10 percent threshold for political parties.
Nationalist Reaction
``The people have given us the job of watching the government's work in parliament,'' Cihan Pacaci, general secretary of the party, said, according to the Anatolia agency. ``The Nationalist Action Party will do this in the most effective way possible.''
The Nationalists and Republicans are more skeptical about Turkey's EU bid and the foreign investment that helped the economy expand at an annual average of about 7 percent since 2002, twice the pace of countries that use the euro.
``We've passed an important test of democracy that is an example to the world,'' Erdogan told a cheering crowd of thousands gathered late today below a balcony at his party's headquarters in Ankara. ``The people have pronounced the Justice and Development Party as the central political power in Turkey.''
Erdogan, 53, is poised to secure the largest share of votes in a Turkish election since 1965, giving him a mandate to bring the nation closer to the European Union and weaken the political influence of the military, which moved to block his choice for president three months ago.
The Justice and Development Party led with 47 percent of the vote with 80 percent of ballot boxes counted as of 11:30 p.m. in today's general election, the state-run Anatolia News Agency in Ankara said. A projection by the Istanbul-based Konda research company for the CNN Turk news channel gave the party 334 seats in the 550-seat parliament.
`Them and Us' Gone
Justice and Development's victory ``shows that the `them and us' distinction which was valid in the pre-election period has now been entirely removed,'' said Guler Sabanci, chairwoman of Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS, which controls Akbank, Turkey's biggest company by market value, in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News.
``It is now the party of the center, not only the party of one faction,'' Sabanci said.
Confidence in Turkey's $400 billion economy was shaken in April after Erdogan sought to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a pious Muslim and a longtime confidant, as president in defiance of the military.
The military has traditionally enforced stability in Turkey and the separation of mosque and state, ousting four governments since 1960.
Erdogan said his party wouldn't seek to compromise Turkey's secular principles. ``Our success in the election won't spoil us, it increases our responsibility,'' he told his supporters late today. ``We feel that responsibility on our shoulders.''
Gul Blocked
The Constitutional Court on May 1 blocked Gul's candidacy on a technicality, prompting Erdogan to bring forward the general election from November in a bid to affirm his mandate. If early results hold, Justice and Development will broaden its popular support by as much as 13 percentage points over the 2002 election that brought it to power.
The ISE National-100 stock index in Istanbul surged 12 percent this month on the expectation that Erdogan would retain power. Turkish stocks have soared almost five-fold since his party won the last election. The lira has gained 11 percent against the dollar this year.
``Definitely the market reaction will be positive, but starting from mid-August, we'll be concentrating on the presidential election,'' said Ozgur Altug, chief economist at Raymond James Securities in Istanbul, Turkey's largest brokerage house. ``In order to see a long-term rally in the Turkish financial markets, we need a compromise on the presidential election.''
The process for the next parliament to elect the president is likely to begin in mid-August, based on a preliminary government schedule.
Conservative Majority
Erdogan is backed by Turkey's conservative majority, who want him to end curbs on religious expression as part of steps to join the EU. Erdogan's party may take the most votes since Suleyman Demirel's Justice Party won in 1965 with 53 percent.
The election will also give Erdogan a vote of confidence to push ahead with economic measures that brought record foreign investment of $20 billion last year. The economy has grown for 21 straight quarters, the longest period since Turkey was founded in 1923.
Some of Erdogan's foes, citing what they see as threats to the secular code of the nation's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, say he is trying to bring Iran-like Islamic restrictions to Turkish society. Justice favors lifting the ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in government buildings, and the wives of both Erdogan and Gul wear the covering.
Balance `Shifting'
``The balance of power in Turkey is shifting toward a new Turkey, empowering conservatives who are more open to democracy and the global economy than their secular counterparts,'' said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at the political-risk consulting firm Eurasia Group in London. ``If tension picks up with the military again then I think this new and stronger mandate will certainly help.''
The projection by Konda shows Justice's legislative majority would be reduced from the current 352 seats because of the entry of a third party into parliament.
The Republican People's Party, Erdogan's main political rival, will take about 20 percent, and the Nationalist Action Party will get almost 15 percent, according to the incomplete election results. If those numbers hold, the Nationalists would enter parliament by passing the 10 percent threshold for political parties.
Nationalist Reaction
``The people have given us the job of watching the government's work in parliament,'' Cihan Pacaci, general secretary of the party, said, according to the Anatolia agency. ``The Nationalist Action Party will do this in the most effective way possible.''
The Nationalists and Republicans are more skeptical about Turkey's EU bid and the foreign investment that helped the economy expand at an annual average of about 7 percent since 2002, twice the pace of countries that use the euro.