TURKEY: Turkey's Constitutional Court will consider today whether to accept a case aimed at closing down the ruling party for Islamist activities.
The petition by a prosecutor has divided Turkey, increased uncertainty in financial markets and could undermine Ankara's bid to join the European Union.
This month a chief prosecutor asked the court to shut the AK Party, which has Islamist roots, for trying to create an Islamic state in secular Turkey.
He also wants 71 party officials, including the prime minister and president, banned from politics for five years.
The AK Party, which won re-election last year, denies the charges and says the case is an attack on democracy.
The party's recent move to allow Muslim headscarves to be worn in universities has angered the powerful secularist establishment which includes the army as well as the courts.
"We won 47 per cent of the vote . . . Everyone must respect the nation's will," prime minister Tayyip Erdogan told supporters yesterday, his voice almost hoarse after a weekend of speech-making. "We will continue our struggle within democracy."
The Constitutional Court first has to decide whether to take on the case, which risks creating a prolonged period of uncertainty in Turkey and could distract the generally pro-business AK Party from reforms.
The case could also have implications for Ankara's EU bid. Enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said on Saturday the case revealed a systemic error in the constitutional framework and could jeopardise entry talks.
Mr Rehn said he had followed the case with "disbelief" and warned that the "inherent problems" it exposed in the Turkish constitution could hamper Ankara's EU accession hopes.
"I hope that judges in the Constitutional Court will consider Turkey's long-term goal of joining the EU and becoming a functioning European democracy."
The prospect of months of domestic tensions have also knocked Turkish markets, already suffering from global financial problems. The stock market has fallen some 30 per cent this year, faring much worse than comparable markets.
It is not clear when the court will announce a decision on whether to pursue the case, which could take as long as six months.
Ahead of the judges' deliberations, a court rapporteur laid out arguments for and against accepting the case in a non-binding report presented last week.
The AK Party has said it may seek to change the constitution to make closing down parties more difficult.