ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s ruling party Wednesday blocked an opposition attempt to air corruption allegations against the government less than two weeks before local elections that are seen as a referendum over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rule.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party, backed by two other parties, recalled legislators from recess for an extraordinary session to try to force Parliament to read prosecutors’ files against four former government ministers allegedly implicated in corruption and bribe-taking. Reading the papers would have put evidence into the public domain, exposing Erdogan to further embarrassment before the March 30 elections.
Despite protests from the opposition seats, Deputy Parliament Speaker Sadik Yakut, a member of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, refused to allow a public reading, arguing that the corruption investigation was ongoing and therefore had to remain secret according to laws. The party was expected to propose committees to investigate allegations privately. Opposition party legislator Akif Hamzacebi called the decision a ‘‘black stain’’ for Turkish democracy.
The corruption allegations have dealt a blow to Erdogan, damaging the devoutly religious and honest image that had helped him win three general elections since 2002. His party is expected to come in first in the election but may lose some municipalities.
Documents leaked on the Internet and purported to be the prosecutors’ files accuse three ministers of facilitating an Iranian businessman’s money transfers to Iran in return for multi-million dollar bribes. A fourth minister is accused of taking bribes in return for construction permits.