Turkey's Islamist victors seek to reassure opponents

Muslim party with leader banned from ruling has emphasised its moderate stance to calm Western fears after landslide win

Turkey's new pro-Islamic party sought to dispel secularist fears of its policies last night when it claimed an election victory that appeared to pave the way for a single-party majority government.

Preliminary results showed the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party, known as AK, had about 35 per cent of the votes. The left-leaning Republican People's Party had almost 20 per cent. About 80 per cent of the votes had been counted.

Voters forced the ruling parties to pay a heavy price for recession, unemployment and corruption in the government by sweeping out the three ruling parties and embracing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 48, the former mayor of Istanbul, and his AK party, founded one year ago from the remnants of a banned Islamist party.

The ailing Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, 77, received only one per cent of the vote. Neither of his two coalition partners appeared to be likely to make it past a national 10 per cent threshold needed to post MPs to parliament.

On the streets and in coffeehouses, Turks, restricted by a ban on entertainment to do little else in their free time but talk politics, spoke of an inevitable Islamist victory. Mr Erdogan called the preliminary results a "turning point" in Turkish politics. "We are respectful of everyone's lifestyle, in favour of speeding up integration with the European Union and global economy," he said in an attempt to assuage fears about his party.

AK officials describe themselves as "Muslim democrats", arguing that they are pro-EU, pro-liberalism and even supportive of an American invasion on neighbouring Iraq.

But the establishment and influential top brass in the country, which is mainly Muslim but officially secular, remain deeply sceptical. They will keep a close eye on AK to make sure it sticks to the pro-Western line Mr Erdogan espouses.

In a country accustomed to fractious multiparty coalitions, a single party government is a rare and welcome sign of stability. But the days ahead are fraught with uncertainty.

Mr Erdogan is banned from politics for a 1998 conviction he received for reciting a religious poem at a rally. Although he holds the party reins, he is not allowed to serve as an MP, or become Prime Minister. Yet he has refused to name a replacement and continues to lead the party.

All eyes will now be on President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a former judge. By tradition he should give AK – as the largest party in parliament – a mandate to form government. But he has signalled that he will not deal with Mr Erdogan. This will put pressure on AK to name a new leader. But any name put forward will probably be a stopgap. If AK is elected with a large enough majority, it is likely to overturn the law under which Mr Erdogan is banned.

In another complication, the chief prosecutor has moved to outlaw AK for allowing Mr Erdogan to lead the party while he is banned from politics. The highest court is due to convene in two weeks to hear the case.

The instability comes at a difficult time. America needs the unequivocal support of Turkey, its ally in Nato, for any invasion on neighbouring Iraq.

AK has said it will back any US attack. But critics point out that the party's moderate leadership could face opposition from its more radical elements. In a bid to temper any extremist tendencies, Washington is pressing Europe to give Turkey a date to start EU accession talks at a summit next month.