Turkish Court Raises Possibility Of New Poll

The court upheld jail terms of 23 months handed down to each of the four former leaders of the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) on charges of providing false statements during the registration of the party for the election.

The ruling effectively means DEHAP candidates should have been barred from the election.

According to BBC online news service, the ruling means that the country’s election board could cancel two million votes won by the party in the election.

“Correspondents say the elections may be cancelled altogether and a new vote called as early as next April.”

DEHAP failed to win any parliamentary seats, but its participation affected the standing of other parties and the distribution of parliamentary seats.

DEHAP was formed before the last election, partly in an attempt to pre-empt a ban on another pro-Kurdish party, HADEP, which was banned in March, according to the BBC.

“HADEP was accused of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a link which it denies, and prosecutors have also called for a ban on DEHAP.”

Electoral authorities now face a decision unprecedented in Turkish politics.

They must decide between confirming the election results, redistributing parliamentary seats or calling new elections.

The legal jumble comes at a time when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is grappling with the problem of whether to send Turkish peacekeepers to neighboring Iraq.

It is also under pressure to enact crucial economic and political reforms to advance Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

Erdogan’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) put a brave face after the ruling, playing down the prospect of new elections or a redistribution of seats in the 550-member parliament, where it holds a majority of 367 seats.

"I believe the electoral board will reject any objections to the election results," AKP deputy chairman Mehmet Dengir Mir Firat said, arguing that the legal period to contest the vote results had long expired.

Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, however, said his party was strong enough to win any election, but warned that new polls could drag Turkey into chaos at a time when it has just started to emerge from a severe economic recession.