Back to square one

Finally the new Turkish parliament met on Monday, August 20, 2007 and for a second time Abdullah Gul’s nomination for presidency was put to the vote.

The election was held with the participation of 435 MPs, while 114 members of the Republican People Party (and one member of the parliament killed in a car accident) were absent. Once again Mr. Gul didn’t succeed in gaining the required votes and inevitably electing the president awaits a second and third round.

 On the first round of election each party voted for its own candidate and Abdullah Gul didn’t obtain the required 367 votes (i.e. two third of the total votes).

Therefore the second round of election was to be held on 24th of August and the third round on August 28th. According to election laws in Turkey, the procedure of election in the second round is similar to the first round, i.e. the president should be receive the vote of confidence from two third of the MPs.

In the third round the president will be elected by the vote of simple majority (half plus one). Foreign and domestic observers deem as definite electing Abdullah Gul as the eleventh president of The Republic of Turkey.

 Despite the religious beliefs of Abdullah Gul, who is a practicing Muslim with a wife that wears a scarf in public places, nobody doubts his competence to hold the presidential office.

The reason is he enjoys quality education and adequate experience in governmental offices from deputyship to foreign ministry and premiership.

Also as recognized politician proficient in English, he has participated in negotiations on Turkey’s joining the E.U. He is a well known figure in political circles of West and a popular one among the world’s politicians.

 Therefore, neither his supporters nor his opponents doubt the definiteness of Gul’s election to this position and everybody knows that he will move to Çankaya (president’s residence) after some days.

With this unprecedented event it can be said that with the election of an Islamist president (though a moderate one), parliament and government, who have all been elected based on undistorted democratic principles, the modern Turkey known with the sacred incontrovertible triangle of Army, Republic and Ata Turk is on the verge of a dramatic transformation.

 The reason is that according the general elections of 22nd of June, a great part of Turkey’s liberal population which once backed secular parties, and their main supporter, namely the army, now have turned towards AKP party and ask for transformation in the political structure of their country with their decisive vote.

The same people believe that persistence on secularism belonged to a time when Turkey wanted to move away from the primitive remains of the Ottoman empire and achieve a national, modern identity. But today’s

Turkey has reached maturity and needs not that rigidity. According to a Turkish journalist, this shirt (secularism) has now become too tight for Turkey, such that they find breathing impossible. And surely by shirt they mean the principles and foundations of Kemalism.

In addition, today’s Turkey deals with more crucial issues such as unemployment, not taking advantage of social security, strained affairs with the Kurdish community and United States and struggle to become a member of the European Union.

On the other hand, Abdullah Gul’s opponents, esp. the Republican People Party declare that with Gul’s presidency and generally with the rule of AKP party, Turkey will gradually move towards an Islamic state, even if the leaders of the party say the contrary.

Gul’s statement that secularism is a wound on the body of Turkish society is now in front of us as a recorded document. If we believe that these words were uttered with honesty at the time, we must pay attention that he’s saying the opposite these days and the people have the right to ask which on is to be considered as honest?

Of course leaders of AKP party dismiss these accusations by referring to the record of their tenure, an open-to-public performance with no signs of moving towards Islamism.

Finally if this was going to be the consequence of the presidential crisis, this question remains unanswered that why did the political crisis of two months earlier occur.

A crisis that led to the army’s ultimatum, the verdict of Constitutional Court, necessity of parliament’s dissolution and call for early election.