Ankara - Turkish premier Bulent Ecevit appeared set to win the most votes in yesterday's national polls, but his hopes of forming a coalition government could be thrown into doubt by unexpected ultra-rightist gains.
While Mr Ecevit and his DSP had looked to the Islamist Virtue Party as his main challenger, it was the ultra-rightist Nationalist Action Party (MHP) which emerged dramatically as his closest rival in early poll returns. The DSP registered 23.4 per cent and the MHP 17.3 per cent after a quarter of votes had been counted.
Mr Ecevit's vote, up from 14 per cent in 1995, was cleared buoyed by the capture of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan weeks after he took office in January.