TURKEY’S AK EXPECTS CLOSURE, BAN

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party expects to be closed and its leader Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan banned from politics by the Constitutional Court, a bastion of secularism. The Constitutional Court agreed in March to examine a lawsuit filed by top prosecutor to close the AK on claims of undermining Turkey’s secular order, cites a recent constitutional amendment to ease restrictions on hijab on campus. The prosecutor also wants Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 70 senior AK officials banned from politics. The court, which sees itself the defender of secularism, is expected to rule on the case as early as July. The Constitutional Court has in the past banned more than 20 political parties on anti-secularism accusations, including the Welfare Party of Premier Necmettin Erbakan. Secularists, who dominate the judiciary, military and universities, accuse the AK of harboring a secret Islamist agenda, a claim the party strongly refutes. AK officials are now considering their options. Party sources expected that new elections will be held if Erdogan and AK members are banned. The MPs, including Erdogan, would then run as independent candidates, who will, once elected, create a new party under another name. The AK won reelection last year, cashing on strong economic growth and the launch of Turkey’s European Union membership talks.