ANKARA, June 14 (Reuters) - Turkey's top court said on Thursday it would keep the country waiting until at least next week for a ruling on whether to shut the main opposition party in a case that may cause more political and financial turmoil.
Asked by Reuters whether the court would hand down a ruling
on Thursday or Friday on whether to close the Virtue Party for Islamist subversion, Constitutional Court deputy head Hasim Kilic said: "No, no chance."
Court officials have said a decision may come next week.
Investors are closely following the court's final deliberations, which began this week.
A ban, if accompanied by an order to unseat a large number of Virtue members of parliament, would trigger by-elections and could topple the country's three-party government coalition as it works to implement economic reforms.
Markets are highly sensitive to the threat of political instability. A row between the prime minister and president in February sparked a financial crisis that has led to a 40 percent depreciation in the value of the lira.
Virtue is charged with being the successor to the Welfare Party, which authorities shut down in 1998 on charges it was a hotbed of Islamist activism.
The Welfare-led government had stepped down in 1997 under pressure from the powerful military, which considers itself the guardian of Turkish secularism.
Overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey strictly separates state and religion.
06:29 06-14-01
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