Turkey's Erdogan Seeks Official Political Return in By-Election
The vote comes at a critical juncture for Turkey and the Justice and Development Party (AKP), as Erdogan's election is seen as key to regaining control over the party's rebellious lawmakers who blocked the deployment of 62,000 U.S. troops in Turkey ahead of a possible conflict with Iraq.
A 1998 conviction of "Islamist sedition" in Turkey's strictly-secular political system kept Erdogan from running for Parliament last year in elections that swept his AKP to power, but he has been widely seen as the power behind the throne of Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.
But a series of legal changes pushed through the Parliament by AKP has made Erdogan eligible to run in by-elections in the southeastern city of Siirt, where irregularities forced the cancellation of the November vote.
It is seen as a near certainty that Erdogan will win one of the three seats, making him eligible to become prime minister.
Gul, a close Erdogan ally, has already indicated he will step down.
"The necessary things will be done after the election of our president," Gul was quoted as saying in Thursday's issue of the daily Milliyet.
Erdogan will have his work cut out for him once he gets into office.
Despite intense lobbying by the AKP leadership, some the party's deputies refused to endorse the deployment of U.S. troops in Turkey, causing the motion to fail by three votes on March 1.
The rejection was a major embarrassment for AKP leaders, and caused disappointment in Washington, which had been pressing its NATO ally for months to gain a northern route into Iraq in case of a conflict.
It also caused turmoil in Turkey's financial markets as investors fled from stocks and the lira as it appeared that Ankara might lose the six billion dollars (euros) in aid Washington had promised to help cover any damage to the Turkish economy a war might cause.
Analysts say that the government has put off pushing for a new vote on allowing in U.S. troops until Erdogan takes over, and he will be key in putting party recalcitrants back into line.
"By electing one parliamentarian, Siirt will direct the fate of the war," the Milliyet daily wrote.
Erdogan argues that support for the United States will serve Turkey's interests.
In rejecting the motion the Parliament also blocked deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq.
Ankara fears that the Iraqi Kurds might attempt to break away from Iraq if war erupts, a prospect that could encourage separatism among their restive Turkish cousins.
Staging his political comeback in Siirt will be steeped with irony as it was at a political rally in the city in 1997 that Erdogan's reciting of a poem with religious overtones ended in him being jailed and losing his right to run for Parliament.
The former mayor of Istanbul -- Turkey's largest city -- served four months of a 10-month prison sentence.
Four parties are contesting the three seats in Siirt.
Besides the AKP, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and two small leftist parties are fielding candidates.
But as only the AKP and CHP overcame the threshold of 10 percent of the nationwide vote to get candidates into Parliament, their candidates should fill the seats.
The tiny pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) came in first in the November vote with 32 percent, but it failed to pass the 10 percent nationwide barrier and is boycotting Sunday's vote. The AKP took 17 percent of the vote in Siirt in the November vote, and the CHP eight percent.(AFP) eaa0072 4 i 0676 tur /afp-fx59 turkey-politics-erdogan sched-advancer turkey's erdogan seeks official political return in by-election by burak akinci siirt, turkey, march 7 (afp) - the head of turkey's ruling akp party, recep tayyip erdogan, is set to stage his return to official politics in a parliamentary by-election here sunday and then take over the prime minister's post. the vote comes at a critical juncture for turkey and the justice and development party (akp), as erdogan's election is seen as key to regaining control over the party's rebellious lawmakers who blocked the deployment of 62,000 us troops in turkey ahead of a possible conflict with iraq. a 1998 conviction of "islamist sedition" in turkey's strictly-secular political system kept erdogan from running for parliament last year in elections that swept his akp to power, but he has been widely seen as the power behind the throne of prime minister abdullah gul. indeed erdogan has often behaved as a prime-minister-in-waiting, embarking on visits to europe, the united states and china where he has been given red-carpet treatment. but a series of legal changes pushed through the parliament by akp has made erdogan eligible to run in by-elections in the southeastern city of siirt, where irregularities forced the cancellation of the november vote. it is seen as a near certainty that erdogan will win one of the three seats, making him eligible to become prime minister. gul, a close erdogan ally, has already indicated he will step down. "the necessary things will be done after the election of our president," gul was quoted as saying in thursday's issue of the daily milliyet. erdogan will have his work cut out for him once he gets into office. despite intense lobbying by the akp leadership, some the party's deputies refused to endorse the deployment of us troops in turkey, causing the motion to fail by three votes on march 1. the rejection was a major embarrassment for akp leaders, and caused disappointment in washington, which had been pressing its nato ally for months to gain a northern route into iraq in case of a conflict. it also caused turmoil in turkey's financial markets as investors fled from stocks and the lira as it appeared that ankara might lose the six billion dollars (euros) in aid washington had promised to help cover any damage to the turkish economy a war might cause. analysts say that the government has put off pushing for a new vote on allowing in us troops until erdogan takes over, and he will be key in putting party recalcitrants back into line. "by electing one parliamentarian, siirt will direct the fate of the war," the milliyet daily wrote. erdogan argues that support for the united states will serve turkey's interests. in rejecting the motion the parliament also blocked deployment of turkish troops in northern iraq. ankara fears that the iraqi kurds might attempt to break away from iraq if war erupts, a prospect that could encourage separatism among their restive turkish cousins. staging his political comeback in siirt will be steeped with irony as it was at a political rally in the city in 1997 that erdogan's reciting of a poem with religious overtones ended in him being jailed and losing his right to run for parliament. the former mayor of istanbul -- turkey's largest city -- served four months of a 10-month prison sentence. four parties are contesting the three seats in siirt. besides the akp, the main opposition republican people's party (chp) and two small leftist parties are fielding candidates. but as only the akp and chp overcame the threshold of 10 percent of the nationwide vote to get candidates into parliament, their candidates should fill the seats. the tiny pro-kurdish democratic people's party (dehap) came in first in the november vote with 32 percent, but it failed to pass the 10 percent nationwide barrier and is boycotting sunday's vote. the akp took 17 percent of the vote in siirt in the november vote, and the chp eight percent.