Turkish Government Voted Out

ANKARA, Turkey — Prime Minister Tansu Ciller’s center-right government lost a confidence vote in Parliament on Sunday, forcing Turkey’s first woman leader to step down.

Lawmakers voted 230 to 191 against Ciller’s government, which has been under attack for resisting early elections and taking a hard stand against striking civil servants.

Ciller, a U.S.-trained economist who took office in 1993, had argued that an early election would harm her economic austerity program and damage prospects for closer economic ties with the European Union.

Her governing coalition collapsed in September in a dispute over the belt-tightening measures. The prime minister and her True Path Party formed a new government by themselves, a move that required a vote of confidence from the 450-member Parliament.