AFP, ANKARA - Turkey's chief prosecutor laid out his arguments Tuesday to have the Islamist-rooted ruling party banned for seeking to undermine secularism in a landmark case before the country's highest court.

The 11-judge Constitutional Court is being asked to outlaw the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) -- an unprecedented move that could prompt a political crisis at a time when Turkey is pushing for EU membership.

Chief prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya arrived at the court at 0700 GMT to present his arguments at the closed-door hearing, a court official told AFP.

Yalcinkaya, who used a back entrance to enter the court building, was not expected to make a public statement.

An AKP legal team will offer the bench a defense of the party on Thursday.

After the hearings stage, a court-appointed rapporteur will submit a non-binding opinion on what the verdict should be. The court will then set a date to debate the case behind closed doors and decide.

The case has hit Turkey's markets and paralysed the government at a time when it seeks to focus on much-needed reforms to help the slowing economy and push ahead with its bid to join the European Union.

A poll published in the popular Milliyet daily on Monday showed that 53.3 percent of Turks oppose a ban on the AKP and fear that such a decision would trigger unrest in the country.

Yalcinkaya launched proceedings in March, arguing that the AKP had become a "focal point" of anti-secular activity aimed at installing an Islamist regime.

He also asked the court to bar 71 AKP officials, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, from party politics for five years.

The AKP, the offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement, rejects the charges as baseless and politically motivated.

Analysts believe the likelihood of the verdict going against the AKP increased after the tribunal last month threw out a government-sponsored constitutional amendment lifting a ban on the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in universities.

Yalcinkaya is expected to cite the amendment as clear evidence of the AKP's desire to undermine Turkey's secular traditions.

If the Constitutional Court decides to outlaw the AKP, it would be the first such move against a governing party in Turkey.

The AKP says it has disowned its Islamist roots and embraced Turkey's bid to become an EU member, but also maintains that rigid interpretations of secularism in Turkey breach religious freedoms.

The prosecutor has argued that moves such as banning alcohol sales in restaurants run by AKP municipalities and attempts to promote Koranic courses, coupled with rhetoric in favour of broader religious freedoms, indicate a secret Islamist agenda.

The AKP wants a verdict as quickly as possible to end the uncertainty and plan its future.

If the party is banned, most of its deputies are expected to regroup under a different name and call snap elections before the end of the year, analysts say.

If the court bans Erdogan from party politics, he could return to parliament by running as an independent.

The previous elections were held in July 2007 -- the AKP was re-elected to a second five-year term with 47 percent of the vote -- and the next polls are normally scheduled for 2011.

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