Turkey's Islamic-leaning party insists on presidential candidate
Turkey’s Islamic-oriented ruling party has decided to nominate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul again for president despite strong opposition to his candidacy, a party official said.
When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed Gul as his party’s candidate the last time, it ignited a backlash from the secular opposition, which accused Gul of having an agenda to scrap the secular traditions of the predominantly Muslim nation.
Murat Mercan, a senior party official, confirmed Gul’s candidacy after a party meeting yesterday.
“Gul is a statesman who has great experience,” Mercan told CNN-Turk television. “I believe he would be very successful.”
Gul’s candidacy signals that Erdogan’s party apparently bowed to pressure from grass-root supporters despite serious concerns raised by secular circles.
It was Gul’s candidacy that triggered a political crisis months ago, forcing the government to hold early parliamentary elections. The choice of candidate had alarmed the military-backed, secular establishment, which accused the government of seeking a lock on power so it could impose Islamic ways unchecked.
Erdogan’s party won a majority of seats in July elections, but it did not secure the two-thirds need to approve a presidential candidate alone during the first two rounds of parliamentary voting.
However, the president can be elected by a simple majority in the third round of voting if the parliament secures a quorum of politicians necessary for presidential elections. Cihan Pacaci, a senior member of the Nationalist Action Party, reiterated that his party pledged support to reach a quorum to prevent a new political crisis.
