ISTANBUL - Turkey's presidential election,
once considered a simple matter by a Parliament
under single-party domination, has become a major
case before the Constitutional Court - complicated
by a sudden military involvement.
When
Parliament voted on Friday, the sole candidate was
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, an affable
57-year-old politician and a ranking member of the
ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development
Party (AKP). His election would have brought the
first Islam-inspired politician with a
headscarf-wearing wife to the
presidency of
constitutionally secular Turkey.
But in
the face of fierce opposition by secular deputies,
Gul received 357 votes - 10 short of the required
two-thirds majority. The main opposition People's
Republican Party took the case to the
Constitutional Court, claiming that Gul not only
needed 367 votes for election, but that the same
number had to be present in voting.
There
were 358 deputies in the chamber for the vote
Friday, although the ruling party claims that
seven opposition deputies who walked in to check
the results should be counted as present.
While eyes were turned to the Constitutional
Court, which could give a decision before the
second round of voting on Wednesday or later, the
country was rocked by an unexpected development:
the military, which has staged four coups since
1950, weighed in with an unexpected communique a
few hours after the voting.
The staunchly
secular military spoke of a drift away from
secular values and a steady shift to introducing
Islamic principles into public life. It declared
itself an interested party in elections as
defender of the secular constitution.
"This radical Islamic understanding, which
is against the Republic and has no goal but to
erode the basic qualities of the state, has been
expanding its span with encouragement," the
communique read.
"It should not be
forgotten that the Turkish armed forces are a side
in this debate and are a staunch defender of
secularism ... and will display their position and
attitudes when it becomes necessary."
The
military statement cited a Koran-reading ceremony
on the day the country was celebrating the secular
Youth Holiday. It asked for the need to be "loyal
to the principle of secularism in essence, not in
words".
Gul has vowed allegiance to the
secular constitution, but the nationalist daily
Cumhuriyet has been carrying his past statements
questioning secularism.
The military's
declaration drew sharp rebuke from the government.
"It is inconceivable in a democratic state based
on the rule of law for the General Staff, which
remains under the orders of the prime minister, to
speak out against the government," spokesman Cemil
Cicek said.
With Turkey a candidate for
full European Union membership, EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn said: "It is important that
the military leaves the remit of democracy to the
democratically elected government, and this is a
test case if the Turkish armed forces respect
democratic secularism and the democratic
arrangement of civil-military relations."
Despite the military's stand, Gul said on
national television on Sunday that his candidacy
would stand.
If the court rejects the
opposition argument, Gul is set to become Turkey's
next head of state. If the opposition petition is
upheld, the country appears headed for a new
parliamentary election six months ahead of
schedule. The new Parliament would then elect the
next president.
Several political parties
and more than 500 civil-society organizations have
been demanding that election of the president
should be the prerogative of the next Parliament.
They also say that the president, who will
represent people rather than any party, should be
chosen through consensus rather than by a party
that polled 33% of the vote.
But the
ruling AKP overrode such objections, and has
sought to place its Islamic-rooted candidate in
the presidential Pink House in Ankara by virtue of
its majority in the outgoing Parliament, whose
mandate is due to expire in November.
A
president from AKP ranks would ensure smooth
working relations, in contrast to the current
stalemate between the religious-oriented
government and a secular president.
President Ahmet Nejdet Sezer, who has no
party affiliation, has blocked scores of
appointments to senior civil-service posts amid
reports that cronies of the ruling party are
seeking to replace established and secular
administrators.
Gul's nomination had come
as a surprise. He is the party's second-ranking
member, the first being Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, a combative and popular politician
who broke away from an Islamist party to found the
AKP, and led it to victory in its first electoral
test in 2003.
Erdogan opted out of the
presidential contest after a secular demonstration
in Ankara against his candidacy, which drew more
than 350,000 people. He was also under pressure
from within his own party to continue as prime
minister and lead the AKP into the next election,
rather than go for the largely ceremonial and
non-political role of president.
The
Ankara demonstrations were followed by a mass
secular rally in Istanbul on Sunday that drew a
crowd estimated to be in the hundreds of
thousands. This has been seen as a rally against
Gul's candidacy.
Meanwhile, the powerful
Business and Industry Association said on Sunday
that the military's statement went against
democratic principles, while criticizing the
government for not doing enough to safeguard
secularism. It asked for immediate national
elections.
What appears to irk the secular
establishment - both the opposition parties and
the military - is that Erdogan and Gul are of the
same Islamic mold, and address each other as
"brother". Both are deeply religious and known for
their past views upholding the role of religion in
politics and public life.
And both have
wives who wear headscarves - attire banned in
universities and in Parliament, and never so far
used at the presidential palace. Gul's election
would mean that a first lady with a headscarf
would become official hostess.
"Secular-minded people like me do not
favor headscarves," said Gul Gunver, professor at
the private Koc University. "But if the choice is
personal, I am not against it.
"Still,
there is a pattern, rather than a personal choice.
Gul's daughter wears a wig over her headscarf in
order to attend university. The boys of such
leaders are all marrying young girls with
headscarves. If it's a matter of personal choice,
I would like to see one of their daughters not
wearing a scarf."
Gul's wife Hayrunisa,
who married him when she was in her late teens,
was turned away from university for refusing to
have a picture taken without a headscarf. She
later sued the country in the European Court of
Justice for violating her human rights. The suit
was dropped when Gul became minister. Pursuit of
the case would have meant a woman suing a
government in which her husband was a member.
Ilter Turan, vice president of the
International Political Scientists Association and
a former rector of Istanbul's Bilgi University,
said the ruling party is underestimating the
feelings of the secular establishment, including
the military, on the need for a secular-minded
president.
Early parliamentary elections
to avoid selection of the president by the current
Parliament could be a viable exit strategy, he
said.
Any military intervention, though
considered remote, would doom Turkey's fading bid
to join the EU, and cost the economy more than
US$100 billion in lost investment, according to
the daily Zaman.
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