TWO-ROUND ELECTIONS POSSIBLE? BY OKTAY
EKSI (HURRIYET)
After meeting with Economy Minister Kemal Dervis yesterday,
Deputy Prime Minister and Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut
Yilmaz stated that Dervis told him that he wouldn’t enter
politics unless a formation could be found that could put
together a strong government. Yilmaz and Dervis met to
evaluate their ongoing efforts to form election alliances.
During the meeting, the two discussed ways to create a strong
alliance in the leadup to elections set for Nov. 3. Following
the meeting, Yilmaz said, “In order to go into politics, Mr.
Dervis wants to see the composition of a strong government
that will be able to firmly steer the Turkish administration.
He considers it a precondition for his going into politics. Mr.
Dervis believes that in elections [without alliances], a
single party could win 20% of the votes and a second party get
10%. The other parties, however, might not be able to pass the
election threshold. Thus, some 60% of the people’s votes would
not be represented in Parliament. Such a situation would spur
an immediate furor over the elections. This would mean that
the party receiving 20% of the total votes would take 60-70%
of the deputies, with the remaining deputies making up a weak
opposition -- truly a nightmare scenario for Turkish democracy.
Dervis values stability and a possible alliance above his own
personal benefits. He thinks that a strong, harmonious
government should emerge following the elections. Therefore he
wants us to make this prospect more likely by forming election
alliances.” Stating that such alliances were not a ploy by
parties fearful of falling below the threshold to save
themselves, Yilmaz said, “Parties that take part in alliances
should be obliged to individually pass the 10% threshold.
We’ve asked the Democratic Left Party [DSP], True Path Party
[DYP], New Turkey [YT] and Democratic Turkey Party [DTP] to
put together an alliance. A DYP spokesman has alleged that
we’re afraid of falling below the threshold, but that is
untrue.” /Hurriyet/
Following a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Democratic Left
Party (DSP) Deputy and State Minister Fikret Unlu met with
Economy Minister Kemal Dervis at his office at the Prime
Ministry. State Minister Tayyibe Gulek was also present at the
meeting. “I have always been proud of working alongside Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit,” Unlu told reporters after the meeting.
“I will continue to carry out my duties. I will not resign.
Those who have complaints about me can come and tell me
themselves.” /Milliyet/
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer yesterday approved the Supreme
Military Council’s (YAS) appointment of Gen. Hilmi Ozkok to be
the new Chief of General Staff. Gen. Ozkok will succeed
retiring Gen. Huseyin Kivrikoglu and the reigns will
officially change hands on Aug. 30. /Turkiye/
In the second extraordinary session in the midst of its
summer recess, Parliament will today convene in order to
debate a job security bill and supplementary budget measures.
The Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Motherland Party (ANAP),
and Democratic Left Party (DSP) yesterday applied to reconvene
Parliament. /Aksam/
Foreign Minister Sukru Sina Gurel yesterday met with Iraqi
Foreign Minister Naci Sabri in Jordan. Gurel told his
counterpart that Turkey didn’t want an operation in Iraq but
that if Iraq doesn’t obey the relevant resolutions of the
United Nations, Turkey could do nothing to help it. Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Yusuf Buluc, who also participated in the
meeting, said afterwards that Iraq was still hesitating to
comply with the UN resolutions. “We want Iraq to change its
stance as soon as possible because it doesn’t have much time.”
/Cumhuriyet/
Labor and Social Security Minister Yasar Okuyan yesterday
stepped down from his post in a resignation announced by Prime
Minister Bulent Ecevit after a Cabinet meeting. It was
reported that Okuyan left the post to protest a lack of
support for a job security bill. State Minister Nejat Arseven
has been appointed as Okuyan’s successor. In a separate
development, former Transportation Minister and Mersin Deputy
Enis Oksuz resigned from the Nationalist Action Party (MHP)
yesterday. /Turkiye/
New Turkey (YT) leader Ismail Cem is scheduled to meet with
Democratic Turkey Party (DTP) leader Mehmet Ali Bayar today.
The senior politicians will reportedly discuss ways that they
could cooperate in November elections, although Cem reportedly
doesn’t favor such alliances with other parties. In related
news, the YT will not receive Treasury aid for early elections
since it hasn’t yet completed its party organization.
/Cumhuriyet/
A new political party called the New Faces Party (YTP) was
officially established yesterday. Lawyer and businessman Munci
Inci and businessman Ates Unal Erzen are among its founding
members. The YTP is Turkey’s 49th political party. /Star/
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board
yesterday approved a loan tranche totalling $1.1 billion to
Turkey. IMF Europe Department Director Michael Deppler stated
that the current economic program would continue to be
implemented, early elections notwithstanding. Deppler also
said that an IMF team was scheduled to visit Turkey in October
in order to consider the next loan tranche to Turkey. “State
Minister for the Economy Kemal Dervis has a very important
place in this economic program,” he added. “In case of a
military operation against Iraq, the Turkish economy will be
affected as well as the economics of the entire region.”
Deppler remarked that the IMF expects the Turkish government
to continue to carry out the economic reforms. In a separate
move, the World Bank is also to release $450 million in
credits to Turkey next week. /Turkiye/
Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IPUK) leader Jalal
Talabani yesterday met with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary
Ugur Ziyal and Deputy Undersecretary Turkekul Kurttekin.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Talabani said that
the IPUK wouldn’t participate in any United States operation
in Iraq without a sufficient and justifiable reason, adding
that he didn’t want an independent Kurdistan. “We are
struggling for a democratic, secular Iraq which meets the
needs of the Kurds,” he remarked. /Cumhuriyet/
A private medical center jointly built by the Japanese
government and the Turkish Foundation for the Poor and
Homeless will be officially opened today. The Private GUC-CAK
Cankaya Medical Center, personally supported by Japanese
Ambassador to Turkey Shigeo Takenaka, was funded by the
Japanese government with a donation of $94,000 and by the
Turkish government with TL 47.25 billion. The opening ceremony
will be attended by Ambassador Takenaka, former Turkish
President Suleyman Demirel and various Turkish government
officials. /Hurriyet/
Columnist Fikret Bila writes about efforts by Motherland
Party leader Mesut Yilmaz to form an alliance before elections
in November. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz has been
meeting with other political party leaders to get support for
legal amendments designed to enable political parties to form
alliances before elections. However, it looks like it is going
to be difficult for the parties to find common ground on this
matter. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has made it clear that he
is opposed to such alliances. Similarly, True Path Party (DYP)
leader Tansu Ciller is also against the idea. When we asked
her about the subject she replied, ‘We want the public to form
the alliance. And the only way to achieve such an alliance is
with a two-round election system. Through a two-round election
system, citizens will have the opportunity to vote for the
party that is their second choice. This, we believe, is much
better than forming artificial alliances that bear the risk of
upsetting the delicate balances in Parliament.’ The approach
of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) to alliances is no
different. According to all the latest public opinion polls,
the AKP will emerge from the elections as the largest party;
so, it isn’t in need of any alliances. Nationalist Action
Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli doesn’t seem to have any
worries about breaking through the 10 percent threshold either.
This explains why he too isn’t keen on alliances. As for the
Republican People’s Party (CHP), its leader Deniz Baykal seems
certain that his party will emerge second in the elections.
Baykal would like to see those people who believe in the
potential of CHP and who are also looking for alliances,
particularly Economy Minister Kemal Dervis, joining his party.
New Turkey (YT) hasn’t accepted the idea of alliances either.
In fact, according to reports, YT leader Ismail Cem told
former President Suleyman Demirel that he didn’t think it was
a good idea to form alliances. So the only party left is the
Felicity Party (SP). SP leader Recai Kutan has not yet made
his views clear on the matter. He just said that his party
didn’t think an alliance was necessary but that they were
still assessing the latest developments. It looks like ANAP
leader Yilmaz has not found the support he had hoped for on
the issue, but that doesn’t mean he has given up trying. DSP
and CHP officials see Yilmaz’s efforts like this, ’Yilmaz
fired before taking aim; first he supported the initiative to
hold elections and then he started to ask for support on
alliances. He should have looked to form his alliance before
deciding on elections’.”
Columnist Oktay Eksi writes on the heated debate concerning
a two-round election system and current proposals about
forming alliances in elections. A summary of his column is as
follows:
“What are the political parties for? Certainly, they are
for bringing a specific political point of view to power and
administrating the country in that direction to sustain the
nation’s well-being. If no single party is able to do this on
its own, then what is wrong with reaching a consensus and
offering a joint political program to the people? This is the
proposal Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is hesitating agreeing
to. However, time is passing and even if he has a change of
heart on the matter, it might already be too late. Of course,
we are talking about the forming of alliances between
political parties in elections. As my colleague Muharrem
Akkaya also writes today, this issue has been the subject of
serious discussion, especially between the Motherland Party
(ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP). DYP chairwoman Tansu
Ciller reportedly put forward her getting the prime ministry
as a precondition for compromising with ANAP. Here, we won’t
be discussing the ethical aspects of this, but let’s take a
closer look at her other proposal concerning the two-round
elections system. Recently resigned former Justice Minister
Hikmet Sami Turk, who is also one of our nation’s foremost
election law scholars, has actually written a well-informed
article on the subject. Though France has such a system, Turk
contends that the two-round setup works best in countries
where individual candidates compete in relatively small
electoral districts. Turkey, by contrast, has parties
competing in a proportional election system. Furthermore, what
Ciller proposes is a multi-candidate system. Moreover, the
election mechanism in Turkey is unable to afford a one-week
interval between the first and second rounds. And a prolonged
time period between the two may create even more serious
problems. Another important point is that two-round system is
not a foolproof one in terms of excluding extremist parties.
Letting such parties in is also possible. Yet, Turk warns us
that there are also some serious ethical concerns about this
system. All in all, the two-round election system proposal
needs to be considered carefully.”
