The fate of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) party will be decided soon as the country's constitutional court started July 28 2008 deliberations on whether to disband it or not.
The court's ruling could be decisive to the country's political stability in the nearby future.
The case against the AK was initiated in March by the country’s chief prosecutor, who, accusing it of undermining the secular foundations of the Turkish state, requested that it be closed down and that 71 of its members, among which prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in person, as well as president Abdullah Gul, be banned from political activity for five years.
In order for the court to take a decision, seven out of the 11 constitutional judges need to be in favour. They might decide to disband the party and ban some of its members, impose financial sanctions on it or dismiss the case altogether.
