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3/30/09

Bloomberg: Erdogan Vote Shrinks in Election as Recession Bites - - by Mark Bentley and Steve Bryant

For the complete report from Bloomberg.com click on this link

Erdogan Vote Shrinks in Election as Recession Bites - by Mark Bentley and Steve Bryant

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost votes in an election for the first time in his seven-year rule after the economy dived into recession, weakening his hand with secular rivals over Islam’s role in politics. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party won 39 percent of the vote in the municipal election with 97 percent of ballots counted, 8 points less than in a general election two years ago, according to unofficial results published by CNN Turk and NTV news channels. The secular Republican People’s Party was second with 23 percent. Erdogan’s party lost control of the mayoralty of the Mediterranean tourism hub of Antalya to the Republicans and gave up the southern city of Adana to the nationalist opposition.

Last year, Erdogan survived a move by prosecutors to ban him from politics and shut down his party for seeking to introduce Islamic law. The case, which cited Justice party legislation to lift the ban on Islamic-style headscarves at universities, failed by a single vote in the Constitutional Court.

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