The IMF's 24-member executive committee approved the latest loan based on the recommendations from an IMF staff mission, which determined after a recent visit that the government remains on track to meet its economic targets.

"The basic view is that the authorities have continued their very strong implementation of the economic program and the program remains on track," Michael Deppler, head of the IMF's European Department, told reporters during a conference call.

Approval of the new loan brings IMF assistance to $12 billion out of a total credit line of $17 billion that the IMF approved for Turkey back in February. Deppler said that the 184-nation international lending agency will send another team of economists to the country in October in preparation for the next loan installment.

However, he said the IMF's executive board might not convene to consider those recommendations and the next loan installment until after the country holds elections on Nov. 3. Deppler said that under the current timetable, the board would not be expected to review Turkey's economic program until late October.

"Whether it will be then or after the election will depend on the situation on the ground and the outlook for policies going forward," he said.

While the IMF sometimes seeks an endorsement from political candidates that they support the IMF's economic reforms, Deppler said the agency did not think that was necessary in the case of Turkey because the program has not generated serious opposition inside Turkey.

"We don't see the type of controversy that makes us uneasy about what the nature of the next government will be," Deppler said.

The IMF, which is also considering a request to increase a $15 billion credit line for Brazil, has said it will seek assurances from two left-of-center candidates, who currently lead in the polls, that they support IMF-approved economic policies.

On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit urged Kemal Dervis, the country's economy minister, to step down because of his alliance with an opposition political party ahead of the November elections.

Dervis, a former top official at the World Bank, is considered a key architect of the IMF-backed economic recovery program.

Deppler told reporters that while Dervis has been "a very effective architect and spokesman" for the economic reform program, "we wouldn't see the program standing or falling on the basis of one individual."

Turkey issues reform pledge
BBC News, August 8, 2002 - The Turkish government has promised to press ahead with economic reforms even though it might be replaced after early general elections in November.

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's government told the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that it would push through what reforms it could between now and then, including plans to privatize the country's state-owned banks.

The government remained committed to "timely implementation... of our policy strategy", Economy Minister Kemal Dervis said in a letter to the IMF.

The government said it would sell part of the Halk bank by March 2003, and would make a second attempt to dispose of Vakifbank by June of the same year. A third state-owned bank, Ziraat, would be sold "as conditions permit", the letter stated.

Electoral costs
The government also admitted that it had narrowly missed previously agreed targets for the closure of state-owned bank branches.

Turkey's fresh commitment to reform as the IMF paid out $1.1bn of a loan package worth a total of $16bn.

Mr Ecevit's ruling coalition government said it would make budgetary savings to ensure that the cost of holding the elections did not ramp up public spending.

It added that it was still on track to meet the IMF's economic targets for 2002, which include reducing inflation to 35% and growing the economy by 3%.

Disputes
Turkey's economic difficulties, which prompted IMF intervention two years ago, have been compounded in recent months by splits with the ruling three-party coalition over economic and human rights reform.

The political uncertainty has been aggravated by Mr Ecevit's long absences due to ill-health.

Earlier this year, the government was forced to bring forward the next scheduled general elections by 18 months, amid signs that it was losing public support.