Tıo court decides not to close ruling party, imposes financial penalty instead

Following two days of deliberations and debate, the Constitutional Court ruled yesterday not to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), but it also decided to cut the party's financial assistance from the state in half. Six members of the Constitutional Court voted to close the party � one short of the seven needed � while four others voted to cut the party's financial assistance from the Treasury, and one voted to reject the case outright. "Accordingly, the AKP will be deprived of half of the financial assistance that it would have received from the Treasury," said Chief Justice Hasim Kilic yesterday. He characterized the ruling as a serious warning. Kilic also called on politicians to reach a consensus to make the Constitution's sections on party closure cases more democratic, adding that this is urgently needed. Kilic said that he believed that from now on everyone would work to reduce domestic political tension. This case marks the first time the Constitutional Court used Article 69 of the Constitution to cut a political party's financial assistance, something made possible by a 2001 amendment. The amendment says that in closure cases, the court can fully or partially deprive a political party of financial assistance instead of banning it.