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Erdogan calls for early elections

Atul Aneja

Turkey standoff enters second round

DUBAI: The standoff between Turkey's military backed secularists and the ruling Justice and Development party has entered its second round with its leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling for early general elections next month.

Mr. Erdogan, whose party has Islamist roots, said on Tuesday he would seek parliamentary approval for elections on June 24 or in early July. The Prime Minister's assertion followed his inability to have his party colleague and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul elected President.

Elections to the presidency were stalled after all secular parties boycotted the poll. Consequently, there was insufficient quorum for the elections, which required the presence of at least two-thirds of deputies for voting. Turkey's constitutional court, citing shortfall in numbers, annulled the first round of polls on Tuesday. It pointed out that 361 lawmakers voted, six short of the quorum. Mr. Gul had got 357 votes.

Formal proposal

Apart from seeking elections, Mr. Erdogan said the President should be elected through popular vote rather than by Parliament. The AK party was expected to formulate a formal proposal on this subject later on Wednesday. "The parliamentary system has been blocked... We are urgently going to the people. Our people will make the best decisions," Mr. Erdogan said.

Buoyed by a period of strong economic growth, Mr. Erdogan's party is expected to do well in the forthcoming general elections. Analysts point out that the political crisis, again, underscores the tussle between democracy, stability and secularism in Turkey.

The Turkish military, which views itself as the guardian of secularism has toppled three elected governments in the past. In 1997, it also forced the resignation of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, because of his Islamist inclinations. As the crisis over Mr. Gul's election began to develop, the military had on Friday warned that it was watching the parliamentary election of a new president with concern.

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