AP News, April 25th, 2007
Turkey's presidential front-runner lobbied skeptical lawmakers for their support Wednesday in an elecMacro running .......tion highlighting tensions between the defenders of secular principles and the Islamic-rooted government.
As the ruling party candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is almost certain to win the presidency in a series of parliamentary votes that begin Friday _ a prospect that has unnerved the country's secular establishment. Hundreds of thousands of people recently demonstrated for secular ideals in the capital of Ankara, and another large rally was planned in Istanbul on Sunday.
Still, the ultimate guardian of secularism _ the military _ has largely shunned the public debate, indicating Turkish democracy is on a more secure footing than in coup-prone days of the past.
Gul courted opposition and independent lawmakers, urging them to thwart plans by the main opposition group to boycott the election. Although the ruling party has supported religious schools and tried to lift the ban on Islamic head scarves in public offices, Gul has insisted he will respect the secular traditions enshrined in Turkey's constitution.
"For the first time, a candidate for president is visiting lawmakers one by one," Gul said. "The decision belongs to lawmakers. I respect their decision."
Current President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vigorously used his powers as a check on the government, vetoing a record number of legislative bills and appointments of officials deemed to be supporters of an Islamic agenda.
Gul is a close ally of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the presidency would complete their lock on political power ahead of general elections planned for November.
"Gul cannot be expected to play the role of Sezer in issuing warnings or putting on brakes," columnist Turker Alkan wrote in the Radikal newspaper.
The leaders of two small parties urged the government to hold early general elections and let a newly formed Parliament elect the president, saying the credibility of the political process was at stake and there was too much tension.
"Turkey has come to a point where it is open to provocations," Motherland Party leader Erkan Mumcu said at a news conference with the head of the True Path Party, Mehmet Agar.
The military, at least in public, has left the political wrangling to the civilians, restricting itself to bland statements that some interpret as a warning to the ruling Justice and Development Party.
"The president must respect the constitution and be loyal to the principles of the republic _ I mean secular and democratic ideals_ not just in words, but in essence," the daily Cumhuriyet quoted deputy military chief Gen. Ergin Saygun as saying after Gul's nomination.
The military staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and pressured a pro-Islamic premier _ Erdogan's mentor _ out of power in 1997. Any overt attempt to intervene in this process could have a devastating effect on the economy and on the NATO member's efforts to reform society as it vies for European Union membership.
If elected, Gul will chair bimonthly National Security Council meetings, which gather the military's top brass and some Cabinet members to discuss key concerns, including homegrown threats from radical Islamic circles.
Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, wears the traditional Muslim head scarf, and secularists dislike the idea of such a religious symbol being worn in the presidential palace.
But both he and Erdogan have rejected the Islamic label. The government has shown openness to the West by securing economic stability with help from the International Monetary Fund, and seeking EU membership.
The ruling party has a majority of more than 60 percent in parliament. But the main opposition Republican People's Party _ with 152 seats _ said it would boycott the first round of voting. It said it would ask the Constitutional Court to cancel the vote if it proceeds without two-thirds of lawmakers present _ a move that could force early general elections.
The ruling party insists only one-third of lawmakers must attend the first round.
