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| Europe |
| Turk court advised not to reject poll |
| 2007-05-02 |
| A Turkish court has been urged to reject an opposition challenge to the presidential election that has split Turkey, newspapers said on Tuesday, and police detained dozens of protesters in Istanbul. The Constitutional Court is due to rule by Wednesday (today) on a request by the main secular opposition party to suspend the election. The opposition accused the Islamist-rooted government of carrying out an illegal vote in parliament last week. Suspension could trigger an early general election and, in the view of many analysts, help defuse escalating tensions between secularists, including the army, and the government. The newspapers said the courtÂ’s rapporteur -who acts as a prosecutor in such cases -Hikmet Tulen had recommended the bid by the Republican PeopleÂ’s Party (CHP) be rejected. The recommendation is not binding. The court said it would start deliberating on the challenge at 2 pm (1100 GMT). Meanwhile, police fired tear gas when they clashed with protesters. More than 100 people were detained, predominantly members of the Revolutionary Workers Union Confederation (DISK). |
| Posted by:Fred |