Once again, the sham rule of law: Turkish court invalidates presidential vote when Islamist had advantage. The myth of democracy and the Rule of Law

Turkish court rules presidential vote invalid

Nick Birch

On a day marred by clashes between police and protesters in Istanbul, Turkey's leading court annulled a presidential vote which secularists fear could open the way to the Islamification of Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, said that early elections would be held on either June 24 or July 1, to try to resolve the standoff between his government and the secularists, including the army, which has threatened to intervene. There will also be a vote in parliament today on the nomination of the foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, a former Islamist. Last Friday's parliamentary vote on his nomination was ruled invalid because fewer than two-thirds of deputies attended.

The ruling was met with applause at the headquarters of the secular opposition party which brought the case. Deniz Baykal, leader of the Republican People's party, had warned on Monday that "Turkey could be dragged into open conflict" if the court failed to block the vote.

A government spokesman insisted that his party would attend a second round of voting today in an effort to secure the attendance of the 367 deputies necessary to validate the vote. The ruling party was joined by only 10 other MPs for Friday's ballot, with opposition party leaders ordering a boycott.

After a weekend in which nearly a million protesters gathered in Istanbul to call for the government's resignation, few analysts expected the opposition boycott to be any less total.

"Practically, today's decision means that the likelihood of this parliament selecting a president is almost zero," said Murat Yetkin, Ankara bureau chief for the daily newspaper Radikal.

But the court's decision is likely to be questioned, and not just by government backers. "From the moment the military made its opinion clear, it was clear what the result would be," said Cengiz Candar, a political columnist for the business daily Referans. Seven out of 11 of the constitutional court judges, he added, were appointed by the incumbent president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a well-known secularist hardliner, whose seven-year term expires on May 16.

Ergun Ozbudun, a constitutional expert, said that the decision was "not just unconstitutional" but, by giving a minority the power to invalidate ballots, had made it all but impossible for parliaments to elect a president. "It's a historical decision, in the negative sense," he said.

Despite all the talk of an inevitable early general election, no one is sure when this will be; Turkish media said senior officials of the government party were considering June or July, four months earlier than the November deadline.

A government spokesman, Cemil Cicek, said yesterday that a final decision would be made after the vote.

Secularists, meanwhile, who had organised two massive demonstrations over the past fortnight, showed no signs of reducing pressure. Central Istanbul was turned into a war zone yesterday as police clashed with leftwing groups trying to protest, marking the 30th anniversary of one of Turkey's most notorious massacres, which involved the death of 34 people who were shot or trampled when gunmen attacked during a May Day demonstration in Istanbul's central Taksim Square.

Yesterday police arrested 700 people as Istanbul's traffic ground to a halt, and 17,000 police ringed the entrances to the city and checked vehicles. Cars took four hours to cross the mile-long bridge connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides. Dozens of motorists waiting for hours in a road tunnel had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, according to Turkish media reports.

In Taksim yesterday, police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds. Police were photographed beating protesters with truncheons and rifle butts.

"We came with carnations," Suleyman Celebi, a trade union leader, said. "You can't expect democracy from those who don't even tolerate flowers."

Facing widespread calls for his resignation, Istanbul's governor, Muammer Guler, blamed the chaos on organisers of the protest.

Explainer

Parliament chooses the president in up to four votes. In the first and second rounds, a candidate must get 367 votes, or two-thirds of all deputies; in the third, he needs only a simple majority of 276 votes. If a fourth produces no winner, a parliamentary election is called. The constitutional court cancelled last week's first round, upholding an appeal from the opposition party, which had boycotted the vote, that a quorum of 367 was needed. The government will repeat the round. However, it must complete all rounds within 30 days of the start of the process on April 16, meaning a president is due on May 16. Three days are needed between rounds, making the timetable very tight. A new schedule will be set out today. Abdullah Gul, a former Islamist and a member of the last government to be pushed from office by the army, remains the only candidate, as nominations have closed. The government is prepared to call an early election if the minimum age for deputies is 25 years; parliament has voted to reduce it from 30, but a constitutional amendment has yet to be made. The AK party said it had presented the draft amendment.

Original article posted here.