Islamists block secularists' bid to ban party from polls

Turkey's popular pro-Islamist leader was poised for victory yesterday after thwarting a last-ditch secularist attempt to ban his party from tomorrow's elections.

The overwhelming popularity of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) is unnerving the staunchly secularist establishment and powerful generals. They worry that, if elected, AKP would seek to introduce a hidden Islamist agenda.

Polls show AKP with about 30 per cent of the vote. Its nearest rival, the left-leaning Republican People's Party (CHP) has almost 20 per cent. AKP's strong showing does not necessarily mean Turkish voters are turning more Islamist. But, mired in the worst recession in living memory and fed up with politics, they are prepared to give the unknown a chance. This is despite AKP's lack of government experience. None of the three ruling parties is likely even to cross the national 10 per cent threshold needed to be represented in parliament.

Prosecutors had sought an injunction against Mr Erdogan as well as a ban on AKP. Mr Erdogan is banned from standing for parliament because of a conviction for inciting religious hatred by reciting a fervent poem at a public rally. He cannot be Prime Minister even his party wins.

He has, though, remained party leader and spearheaded the party's campaign, declining to name a replacement. His latest slogan calls on voters to elect AKP with enough of a majority to form a single-party government. That would allow AKP to overturn the law under which he is banned.

Speaking at a rally in western Turkey after the ruling, Mr Erdogan called on voters to elect AKP on its own. "We will not play with anyone's bread and butter," Mr Erdogan told the crowd, to massive applause. AKP has built its campaign on promises of social justice and better conditions for the poor. The party draws most of its support from the urban poor and the Anatolian hinterland.

A strong orator, Mr Erdogan has studiously avoided mention of religion in the campaign to avert a possible confrontation with the military. Turkey's generals see themselves as guardians of the country's secular, pro-Western status quo and have staged three coups in as many decades to this end. In 1997, they forced the country's first Islamist-led government from power and remain suspicious of AKP.

Mr Erdogan and the AKP have their roots in Turkey's political Islamic movement. But they reject the "Islamist" label and say they have changed. They prefer to call themselves Muslim Democrats and say they are conservative, not radical. Critics note that many of the party's activists previously belonged to Islamist parties.

Judge Hasim Kilic said the court would examine the petition for an injunction against Mr Erdogan after 15 days. But the case could drag on for months. Speaking to journalists after Friday prayers, Mr Erdogan said he would continue as party leader.

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, has criticised the ban on Mr Erdogan's candidacy and moves to ban other parties, including one that promotes Kurdish rights. The bloc has sought radical human rights reforms from Turkey before it will consider granting Ankara a date to start accession talks. But Washington, looking to Turkey for support of a likely invasion of neighbouring Iraq, is lobbying Brussels to give Ankara that date at an EU summit next month. The Bush administration hopes that a nod from Europe could temper any extremist tendencies. Investors are also watching the election closely, concerned about the future of a $16bn (£10bn) International Monetary Fund rescue package aimed at overcoming last year's devastating financial crisis.

¿ Visiting Greek fans clashed with Turks in Istanbul yesterday, one day after a Uefa Cup match ­ the first competitive match between clubs from the countries and billed as a showcase of warmth between the neighbours ­ was marred by violence. Fighting broke out between fans of the Athens club Panathinaikos and Turks as the Greeks were gathering to leave.The violence undermined efforts for a joint Turkish and Greek bid to host the 2008 European football championship.