Turkish MPs set poll date

August 01, 2002Andrew Finkel in Ankara

THE Turkish parliament attempted yesterday to end months of national instability by voting overwhelmingly for an early election.

There were 449 MPs in favour and 62 against the election being held on November 3, 18 months before the parliament’s term ends.

Two of the coalition partners joined the Opposition in the belief that a Government plagued by resignations and the poor health of Bulent Ecevit, the Prime Minister, would be unable to soldier on.

Parliament will be asked this week to kickstart entry negotiations with the European Union, with measures to include the right for Kurds to be educated in their own language and the abolition of the death penalty.

Most polls suggest that the likely beneficiary of the election will be the Justice and Development Party, led by Tayyip Erdogan, who is keen to shake off his pro-Islamic image.

The Nationalist Action Party, the largest in parliament, wants to make the vote a referendum on Turkey’s relations with the EU. Mr Ecevit, 77, of the Democratic Left Party, insists that he will contest the election.