THE Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was poised yesterday to become Prime Minister after winning a by-election in the southeastern town of Siirt and entering parliament four years after he was jailed for Islamist sedition.

He faces an uncomfortable return from the political wilderness, however, stepping into a row with Washington over Turkey’s refusal to allow US troops on its territory for a war against Iraq. At home he faces accusations that the American military deployment appears to be going on regardless.

Turkish television reported that a line of lorries carrying American military equipment had arrived in the southeastern town of Gaziantep — the latest of several convoys to leave the port of Iskenderun in the past few days. US military officials have also been renting sites near Turkey’s border with Iraq and setting up bases.

Western diplomats and the Turkish General Staff say that the US activity is in line with an earlier agreement that involves the upgrading of Turkish bases and ports. The sight of the convoys has, however, created unease in Turkey, where the public overwhelmingly opposes a war on Iraq.

According to unofficial results, Mr Erdogan and two of his party colleagues were set to represent the three vacant districts of Siirt after his Justice and Development Party (AK) took nearly 85 per cent of the total vote. All eyes are now on Mr Erdogan and a reshuffled Cabinet to take a second motion to parliament on the deployment of US troops for a crucial northern front against Iraq.

Until recently Mr Erdogan was banned from politics after reading out a poem that compared minarets to bayonets and the faithful to soldiers. In a speech broadcast live to the spot in Siirt where he had read out that poem, Mr Erdogan proclaimed the results as a turning point in Turkish democracy.

Even before voting in Siirt was complete, Mr Erdogan held a three-hour meeting with the US Ambassador to Turkey, possibly over the timing of a new vote, which Washington wants as soon as possible. Turkish military officials believe privately that the US deployment will go ahead.

The Turkish army has also been moving troops and equipment to the border area with Iraq. With several thousand men already in northern Iraq, Turkey hopes to send tens of thousands more troops into the region in the event of a war to prevent Iraqi Kurds forming an independent state.

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