ANKARA, 8 January 2003 — Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of Turkey’s ruling party, cannot stand in a by-election scheduled for March despite recent constitutional amendments aimed at paving the way for his election and his taking over as prime minister, the country’s top prosecutor said yesterday.
Erdogan, 48, was banned from taking part in the Nov. 3 general elections in which his Justice and Development Party (AKP) won an overwhelming majority of seats because of a 1998 conviction for sedition imposed for reciting a poem with Islamist tones at a political rally. Since the constitution stipulates that only a member of Parliament can become prime minister, Erdogan was denied the top prize.
But last month, Parliament amended the constitution to allow the AKP leader to run in a by-election. A new election has been called for three seats allocated to the southeastern Siirt constituency after electoral authorities canceled the results of the November poll there, citing procedural flaws. Erdogan was expected to run there.
But Sabih Kanadoglu, the chief prosecutor of the appeals court, argued in a written statement yesterday that the Siirt elections were not a "by-election" but a "re-run of the Nov. 3 poll" which must be carried out under the same rules.
"Earning the right to run in elections through constitutional or other legal amendments does not make one eligible for the Siirt elections," Kanadoglu’s statement read.
The higher electoral board will have the final word on whether Erdogan can run in Siirt.
The AKP leader is widely seen as the driving force behind the government — which is currently headed by his right-hand man Abdullah Gul — and he has behaved like a prime minister-in-waiting, embarking on a series of foreign visits. (AFP)
