(Turkish daily news) Turkey yesterday announced that it will sign preferential trade agreements with 18 Islamic countries in September. Read more...

(Global Politician) The recent July 22, 2007 elections in Turkey heralded a victory for the Islamist (AKP) Justice and Development party over the other contenders. Six years after the tragic event that occurred in New York City and nearly five years after the United States invaded Iraq, the Middle East and Arab world has been viewed in terms of oversimplified categorizations, for example, Islamist/Moderate, Religious/Secular, and Sunni/Shia. The Turkish elections were viewed in a similar context: Islamist vs. Secularist. Looking deeper than the Islamist vs. Secular paradigm that framed the election from a western media perspective, one would see that oversimplified Islamist-Secular paradigm, in relation to the elections, was more about Turkey’s identity and the strong correlation between economic progress and political empowerment. Read more...

(Turkish daily news) It is difficult to be optimistic at present about Turkey's membership to the European Union (EU), said Vice President of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Andrew Duff. While he views the new Turkish Parliament as a positive development, debates within the European Parliament give reason for doubt. Read more...

(Turkishpress) "I believe Turkey will emerge stronger from this process. The 60th government will make Turkey go through a new period of leap forward," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. Read more...

One of Turkey's main opposition parties, the MHP, has said it will not boycott next month's presidential election. The move could clear the way for the Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul to become president. Read more...

(Washingtonpost) Turkey's ruling AK Party, emboldened by its big election win, looks increasingly likely to re-submit Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as its candidate for president, risking a fresh clash with powerful army generals. Read more...

(TDN) Expectations of an increase in Turkey's credit rating have been on the rise. However, international credit rating agencies welcoming the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) election victory said it is too 'early' for a rate increase in Turkey. Presidential elections are an important risk, they said. Read more...

+++ Switzerland - Le Temps. Frédéric Koller believes that the risk of crisis in Turkey is far from over. "We would like to believe, with the majority of Turks, that their country is more mature today, more democratic, set on the path to economic progress and ready to pursue an open dialogue with Europe. ... But we can also think that the populist Tayyip Erdogan has yet to prove that he is a democrat with no hidden agenda and that the AKP is the equivalent of a Christian-democrat party in Europe, as some suggest. His first mandate remains associated
with the insidious Islamisation of Turkish society and the AKP, because of its arrogance and mistakes, is responsible for the political crisis of these past few months. The first test will
be whether or not he manages to present a candidate of compromise for the presidency. He promised that he would. He owes it to the Turkish voters, at the risk of another crisis."
(24/07/2007) +++
http://www.letemps.ch/template/editoriaux.asp?page=1&article=211746

+++ Spain - El País. For the daily, "the results of these elections go beyond the hopes of the centre-right party [AKP] which, led by Erdogan, has allowed Turkey the greatest step forward it has taken in decades. The elections have flagrantly delegitimated the powerful generals, who established themselves as guardians of the secular model. ... Despite its shady side, the Ankara government has straightened out the economy, modernised the Constitution and the laws, limited the military domination of politics and opened up negotiations for EU accession in October 2005. The fact that this last point has become seriously complicated and not just because of Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to presidency, should only incite Erdogan to pursue, with even more verve, the reforms necessary to fit into the club that Turkey has been wanting to join for 40 years." (24/07/2007) +++
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/Turquia/apuesta/elpepuopi/20070724elpepiopi_1/Tes

+++ France - Les Echos. Jean-Marc Vittori stresses how precarious the balance of power remains for the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite Sunday's victory. "For
one thing, the AKP hasn't secured the qualified majority of two thirds that would have allowed it to impose its candidate for the presidency of the Republic. ... Also, the National Action Party , which is very opposed to the European Union, has doubled it's number of votes and is entering Parliament. ... What is the Prime Minister going to do with his victory now ? It won't open a boulevard up for him, just the right to continue along a difficult pathway. ... The Prime Minister will have to continue imposing reforms that will consolidate the country's democracy and economy. For this, he of course intends to lean on Europe and its demands." (24/07/2007) +++
http://www.lesechos.fr/info/analyses/4603631.htm

+++ Austria - Der Standard. Following the landslide victory of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party, Michael Moravec calls for an end to "the dithering about Turkey's EU
membership". "The election victory should give Erdogan the necessary leeway to overcome the hurdles in the accession talks with the EU. Erdogan's conduct in the still unresolved Cyprus
issue will show how serious he is about EU membership. ... And this Turkish showdown must be followed up by an EU showdown. Behind all the alleged and genuine obstacles to Turkey's
membership lies the question: does the EU want to expand by around 80 million people, most of whom are Muslim? After this election Turkey has at least earned a clear answer to this
question." (24/07/2007) +++
http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=2970018

+++ Finland - Hufvudstadsbladet. According to Björn Sundell, despite the AKP's clear majority, Mr. Erdogan must reach out to other parties in the future. He adds that this won't be easy.
"The AKP has Islamic roots and is pro-European. The National Movement Party (MHP), on the other hand, shuns the EU while the nationalist Republican People's Party (CHP) wants to keep
religion out of politics at any cost. And the Kurds are tough partners for anyone. Once the euphoria of the election victory has died down, Erdogan would do well to be a little less self-assertive, particularly as far as the next presidential candidate is concerned. Last spring his choice of a religious candidate added fuel to the conflict between religious and secularist Turks. If Erdogan doesn't act with a little more diplomacy and tact this time, he risks plunging Turkey from one political crisis into another." (24/07/2007) +++
http://www.hbl.fi/text/ledare/2007/7/24/d4307.php

+++ Slovenia - Dnevnik. With its election victory, the AKP under Prime Minister Reçep Tayyip Erdogan will continue in Ataturk's tradition of the secular state, writes Ales Gaube, commenting.
"This is the first time in 50 years that a ruling party has managed to improve on its previous election results. If an Islamic party had achieved such a victory, conservative circles within the European Union would have seen it as proof that Turkey is not yet ready for the old community. However, such an assessment would be mistaken. ... [Erdogan] wants to continue
the country's economic and political reform. By 2012 he plans to implement fundamental European laws, regardless of whether Turkey is given EU membership or not." (24/07/2007) +++ http://www.dnevnik.si/kolumne_komentarji/komentarji/258945/

(Source: Eurotopics)

(Forbes) Turkey's Islamic-oriented ruling party did so well in general elections that it can govern alone. A test of whether the party can balance authority with diplomacy will come when the new parliament chooses a president. Read more...

The Economist points out that the ruling party scores a surprisingly big electoral victory, despite fears of growing religious rule. Read more...

(Marketwatch) Turkey's currency and stocks rallied on Monday after the Islamist-rooted, pro-business ruling AK Party secured a decisive victory in parliamentary elections, ensuring some measure of political stability after months of turmoil. Read more...

Support for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) rose from 34% in the 2002 election to nearly 47% Sunday, according to preliminary results. It marks the first time in 52 years that Turks have voted an incumbent party back into power with even more support than before.

AKP 46, 6 % (341 seats)

CHP 20, 85 % (111 seats)

MHP 14, 29 % (70 seats)

Independent candidates (28 seats)

(According NtvMSNBC)


News & analysis

BBC, Turkish PM vows to pursue reform

FT.com, Landslide victory for Turkey’s Erdogan

Bloomberg, Turkish Markets may rise after AKP elected

Reuters, Turkey's AKP faces challanges after victory

About 42 million in Turkey go to the polls for key vote. The early election was called to resolve a political crisis after parliament repeatedly failed to agree on a candidate for president.

Polling booths opened at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) in east Turkey. In the west, including the capital Ankara and main commercial city Istanbul, they opened an hour later.

Unofficial results are due after 9 p.m. (1800 GMT). Click here to see some pictures.

Reuters reports that Turkey's ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party looks on course to win enough votes on Sunday to govern alone again in an election that has divided the country over religion's role in a secular state.

Sabrina Taversine from New York Times ponits out that a deep transformation is under way in this nation of 73 million and elections this Sunday may prove a watershed: liberal Turks, once the principal political supporters of the nation’s ruling secular elite, are turning their backs on it and pledging their votes to religious politicians as well as a broad new array of independents. Read her article.

Post-election scenarios are already on the table. Bilal Cetin, Vatan daily, suggests the following scenarios:

1. An AKP single-party government, if it gets more than 38% of the votes

2. A less powerful minority AKP government, if it gets nearly 35% of the votes but it has nearly 260 seats, with the support of independent candidates of the Democratic Turkey Party (DTP)

3. A coalition of the AKP and the Democrat Party (DP), if four parties pass the threshold.

4. A coalition of the AKP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in a three-party Parliament

5. A coalition of the AKP and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)

6. A coalition of the CHP and MHP.

Turkey’s election is being cast as a battle between Islamists and secularists. But the real struggle is not over whether the country should be more religious but over whether it should be more European—and more free, says Owen Matthews from Newsweek. Read here his full article.

The importance of this weekends' election goes well beyond Turkey itself, says the Economist (19 July 2007). It writes: "On July 22nd Turkey, still an adolescent democracy, goes to the polls. The event is being followed carefully far from its own borders. For one thing, the country is of huge strategic importance. It borders the European Union to the west and the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq and Syria to the east and south. Iraq is especially crucial, as Turkey's army is threatening to invade its northern region to root out Kurdish terrorists there. Outsiders are also monitoring Turkey as one of the Muslim world's rare examples of a working democracy." Read the full article.

The Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) in Bonn has just published a new issue of the ZEI EU-Turkey-Monitor.

Amnesty International has released a damning report entitled "Turkey: The Entrenched Culture of Impunity Must End". In it, Amnesty outlines the country's persistent violations of human rights and a lack of willingness to deal with the problem. Read more...

Bloomberg: Turkish stocks, cheaper than equities in the markets of the European Union, are attracting investors who say this year's rally is just the beginning. Read more...

"We will not form a coalition with independent candidates who are supported by the Democratic Society Party (DTP)," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday. Read more...