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| Turkey prepares for key election | Turkey prepares for key election |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Political campaigning has ended in Turkey ahead of Sunday's general election, seen as one of the most important in the nation's history. | Political campaigning has ended in Turkey ahead of Sunday's general election, seen as one of the most important in the nation's history. |
| The early poll was called after MPs from secular parties and the ruling AK Party reached deadlock, after failing to agree on a candidate for president. | The early poll was called after MPs from secular parties and the ruling AK Party reached deadlock, after failing to agree on a candidate for president. |
| The government has been focusing its campaign on its economic record. | The government has been focusing its campaign on its economic record. |
| The opposition accuses the Islamic-based AK Party of threatening Turkey's secular system. | The opposition accuses the Islamic-based AK Party of threatening Turkey's secular system. |
| Many here believe it is the army that really calls the shots, without needing to fire any BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2007/07/the_general.html">Read Mark's thoughts in full | |
| The rival camps have been blaring out their songs and messages in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond. | The rival camps have been blaring out their songs and messages in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond. |
| One party alone, he says, has more than 400 loud-speaker vans criss-crossing the city, which is now festooned with party banners and flags. | One party alone, he says, has more than 400 loud-speaker vans criss-crossing the city, which is now festooned with party banners and flags. |
| The election has been called in an effort to break a stalemate over a package of constitutional reforms proposed by the current government of Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan. | |
| Turkish election primer Your questions answered | |
| Those reforms include a proposal for the country's president to be elected directly by the people, rather than by parliament. | Those reforms include a proposal for the country's president to be elected directly by the people, rather than by parliament. |
| They were put forward by the AK Party, whose candidate for the presidency, Abdullah Gul, was repeatedly rejected by parliament. | They were put forward by the AK Party, whose candidate for the presidency, Abdullah Gul, was repeatedly rejected by parliament. |
| Turkey's current president and its secularist establishment have vowed to resist what they regard as the Islamist agenda of the AK Party. | Turkey's current president and its secularist establishment have vowed to resist what they regard as the Islamist agenda of the AK Party. |
| Mr Erdogan's government denies the claims, saying its record in office proves the contrary. | Mr Erdogan's government denies the claims, saying its record in office proves the contrary. |
| The government has overseen almost five straight years of economic growth and opened membership negotiations with the European Union. | The government has overseen almost five straight years of economic growth and opened membership negotiations with the European Union. |