Court ruling on dissolved municipalities spurs debate

A recent Council of State ruling allowing municipalities dissolved by Parliament to participate in the local elections next March has spurred heated debate among Turkey's high judicial bodies. Parliament passed a law earlier this year declaring that municipalities with populations below 2,000 would not take part in the local elections, and the Constitutional Court approved this measure. The Council of State, however, just ruled that those 862 municipalities could in fact take part in the elections. The Supreme Board of Elections (YSK) also adopted a course of action on the municipalities in line with the Council of State ruling. The Constitutional Court had previously announced that those municipalities could not appeal to the judiciary to overturn the decision. This week, both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hasim Kilic accused the Council of State of overstepping its authority and violating the Constitution. In response to the criticisms, the Council of State released a statement saying that Erdogan's comments are out of line with the rule of law and accusing Chief Justice Kilic of overstepping his constitutional duty, authority and responsibility. Other Constitutional Court members have also spoken out, criticizing Kilic's accusations of the Council of State. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said everyone must comply with Constitutional Court rulings. Commenting on the debate, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal called the situation a crisis in Turkey's judicial system, blaming Erdogan for causing the dispute.