Wednesday, May 02, 2007

EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Turkey: High Court Invalidates Presidential Vote

"TURKEY: HIGH COURT INVALIDATES PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
Nicholas Birch 5/01/07

Turkey’s Constitutional Court, in a decision with potentially profound repercussions for domestic tranquility, as well as the country’s European Union bid, has invalidated the country’s presidential election. The court’s May 1 decision effectively endorses the Turkish military’s intervention in the country’s democratic process. It also means early parliamentary elections are likely.

During a brief evening news conference in Ankara on May 1, Constitutional Court spokesman Hasim Kilic announced that the judges had ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the secular opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), which argued that a lack of a quorum in parliament during the first round of presidential voting on April 27 rendered the election invalid."

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