"Turkish parliament elects former Islamist as speaker
ANKARA, Aug 7, (Agencies): Turkey’s parliament elected the ruling AK Party’s candidate Mehmet Ali Sahin as its new speaker on Wednesday, but the former Islamist failed to win the backing of the secularist opposition, setting the stage for possible future tension. Opposition parties criticised the Islamist-rooted AK Party for ignoring calls to field a candidate who would get cross-party backing. The opposition wanted outgoing speaker Koksal Toptan re-elected. The appointment is not likely to change government policy as power rests firmly in the hands of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, and the AK Party has a big majority in parliament. But Sahin’s appointment risks making consensus-building in parliament over reforms sought by the European Union more difficult. Sahin, the former justice minister, was a founding member of the AK Party and was also a senior member of a predecessor, the Islamist Welfare Party. The military helped garner public support to push Welfare Party government out of power in 1997. Welfare Party members were among those who formed the AK Party."
More:Arab Times :: Turkish parliament elects former Islamist as speaker
