FM Abdullah Gül is very close to being elected Turkey's 11th president. He will probably be elected on Aug. 28, during the third round of voting where a simple majority will suffice. Gül's wife will be Turkey's first headscarf wearing first lady

ANKARA – Turkish Daily News


Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül from the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) is very close to becoming the new head of state. With the AKP's majority in Parliament, Gül is likely to be elected in the third round of voting on Aug. 28, just two days before the military's Victory Day celebrations.

“I saw the support of my friends in my party and I announced my candidacy,” said Gül yesterday in his first statement on his presidential bid. He also made his official application for the presidential candidacy yesterday with the support of more than 250 AKP deputies. Parliament's Speaker Köksal Toptan received Gül's application and wished him success in his presidential bid.

The AKP failed to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül as president in April following a harsh warning from the military. The Constitutional Court annulled the first round of elections and ruled that the quorum, 367 deputies, was not met in Parliament. “Gül will be an impartial president,” said Akif Gülle, advisor to Prime Minister Erdoğan in a press statement he made on behalf of the AKP. This is the only statement made by the party so far on Gül's candidacy.

The deadline for submitting candidacy applications is midnight Aug. 19. The first round of elections is set for Aug. 20, the second round for Aug. 24 and the third round for Aug. 28. Gül's wants to be elected in the first round of elections where at least 367 votes are necessary. The 340-seat AKP needs 27 more votes for achieving this but so far only a few independent candidates said they will vote for Gül.



DTP considering voting for Gül

Gül plans to meet the officials of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) today. But the DTP's Selahattin Demirtaş yesterday said they will be present during the presidential elections but they will think about voting for Gül only after today's meeting. Demirtaş said they don't share such concerns that secularism will be under threat if Gül is elected. The DTP has 20 seats in Parliament.



Gül thanks Bahçeli

Gül's first stop was at the MHP's headquarters, a party with 70 seats in Parliament. Foreign Minister Gül said he thanked Devlet Bahçeli for his positive opposition and for confirming that the MHP group will be present during the presidential elections. Bahçeli already helped bring relief to Gül by saying that they will enter Parliament even though they will not vote for Gül. The MHP's decision cleared the way for Gül to run for president.

The MHP is not expected to vote for Gül. Cihan Paçacı, the MHP's secretary general, said they plan to nominate a MHP deputy for president, speaking to reporters yesterday. Mehmet Şandır, deputy leader of the MHP, speaking to reporters in Mersin yesterday, said that the AKP will turn the presidential elections into a crisis. “In April it was the regime crisis but now it is the AKP's crisis. We'll all see whether Erdoğan and others in his party will vote for Gül,” Şandır said.



CHP rejects Gül's request to meet

Gül went to the offices of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) to meet Zeki Sezer. Gül could not get the support of the DSP. Meanwhile the Republican People's Party (CHP) criticized the AKP and Erdoğan yesterday for not seeking compromise on the presidential process. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, deputy parliamentary group leader, said Erdoğan did not keep his promise and preferred to impose his candidate. The CHP will not enter Parliament during the presidential elections. Furthermore the CHP turned down a request by Abdullah Gül to meet and discuss his presidential bid.



Handover on Aug. 28?

If Gül is elected on Aug. 28 he will immediately take his oath in Parliament and will take over the office from current President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Sezer does not plan to invite Abdullah Gül's wife for the handover ceremony. If elected on Aug. 28, Gül's first major public appearance as president will be during the Victory Day ceremony on Aug. 30.

Gül's wife will be Turkey's first headscarf wearing first lady
thats nice
Sezer does not plan to invite Abdullah Gül's wife for the handover ceremony
they try to do something Comfort them

We ll remember those "4 years - hopefully less" as dark clouds on Turkey. Hopefully AKP leader RTE and all his team will movew to the US where his teacher "..one old turkish (?) guy" lives.

God bless Turks even from so called- Turks

Democracy and R. Tayyip Erdoğan and his brothers... They do not go well together. Have you forgot what he was saying a few years ago?? "Democracy is just a tool for us, it's like a train, when we come to where we want to come, we leave it"

mltm unfortunately 47 percent of Turkey today only saw the simple things they have done for our country...

I'd like to give you some "interesting" results of a recent research carried out in Turkey. Maybe, you may get a better understanding of the danger coming. More and more we're getting closer to a religious state, and the turkish society is getting more and more religious. And there's no doubt that in the coming years, together we'll see how the secular democratic Turkey turns to an Islamic state.


1)"Are the holy books or the scientific foundings more important in order to understand the world and the universe?"

59% of the AKP (party of conservatives/islamists) voters
46% of the MHP (party of ultra nationalistes) voters
15% of the CHP (party of social democrats)voters

have stated that "the holy books are more important"

2)"Is it sin for a woman to wear swimsuit/bikini on the beach, at the pool?"

83% of the AKP voters
63% of the MHP voters
14% of the CHP voters

have said: "yes, it's a sin"

3)"During the Ramadan, should the restaurants stay open during the day or stay close until the breaking of the Ramadan fast?"

53% of the AKP voters
30% of the MHP voters
12% of the CHP voters

have answered this as "they should stay close"


We're in a democratic state, so if the majority of the people want they can bring Sharia to Turkey. That would be very democratic!