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| Europe |
| Gul fails in second round of Turkish presidential vote |
| 2007-08-25 |
| Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, the frontrunner to become TurkeyÂ’s next president, failed to secure the post in a second round of voting in parliament on Friday, but is virtually guaranteed victory in next weekÂ’s third ballot. Gul, whose Islamist past is treated with deep suspicion by the army and secular establishment, garnered 337 votes from the 550-seat house, 30 short of the two-thirds majority needed. He had failed by a similar margin in the first round vote on Monday. The other two candidates, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu from the right-wing Nationalist Action Party and Tayfun Icli from the centre-left Democratic Left Party, were way back on 71 and 14 votes respectively. Gul is now poised for certain victory in the third round next on Tuesday when a simple majority of 276 will suffice. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), to which he belongs, commands 340 parliamentary seats. The foreign minister had first run for the presidency in April, triggering a political crisis and snap general elections. At that time, his bid was blocked by a boycott by the main opposition Republican PeopleÂ’s Party (CHP) that denied parliament the quorum needed to vote. The CHP, which argues that a Gul presidency would undermine TurkeyÂ’s fiercely-guarded secular system, also boycotted FridayÂ’s ballot, but the participation of other opposition parties secured the quorum. The crisis over GulÂ’s candidacy in April, which saw millions take to the street to protest against the prospect of an AKP president, climaxed when the army warned it stood ready to step in and defend the secular system. The AKP responded by calling early elections on July 22 in which the party won a huge majority that it hailed as a popular mandate to re-nominate Gul. Opponents say that with GulÂ’s presidency, the AKP, the moderate offshoot of a now-banned Islamist movement, would complete the seizure of all top state offices and get a free hand to erode the separation of state and religion. Hardline secularists are also irritated by the fact that GulÂ’s wife wears the Islamic headscarf, which they see as a symbol of defiance of the secular system. Supporters point out that the AKP has disowned its Islamist roots, pledged loyalty to secularism and conducted far-reaching reforms that stabilised the economy and ensured the start of TurkeyÂ’s EU membership talks. TurkeyÂ’s president is a largely ceremonial figure, but has the authority to name senior bureaucrats and judges and to return legislation to parliament. Gul has repeatedly pledged to stay loyal to the secular system and be impartial if elected. Ten years ago, the army forced the resignation of TurkeyÂ’s first Islamist-led government of which Gul was a member. |
| Posted by:Fred |