Turkish Elections

Key Players

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister(Serkan Senturk)

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister and AKP party leader, is Turkey's most popular politician. But debate about his ties to the more radical Islamist Welfare Party, which was banned in Turkey in 1998, precluded him from running for president. Many see Erdogan, who served time in jail for reading an Islamist poem at a political rally, as a religious conservative.

Abdullah Gul, foreign minister(Str)

Abdullah Gul is seen as the compromise presidential candidate. As foreign minister, Gul has avoided pushing a religious platform and has led Turkey's talks with the European Union. He is seen as less confrontational than Erdogan, but many still fear Gul, whose wife Hayrunisa wears the religious head scarf, will push hard-line religious agendas. Turkey has never had a first lady who wears the head scarf; women in Turkey are forbidden from covering their hair in government offices and public places and some think Gul would work to ease such restrictions.

The military, which has vowed to preserve Turkey's secular system, is a huge player in the current political elections. Armed forces have removed four elected governments in Turkey since 1960, and some question whether this could happen again. Military intervention could hurt Turkey's chances of entering the European Union.

Issues at Stake

Secular-Islamist Tensions -- Fears over the rise of an Islamic government have sparked months of mass protests and political unrest, as the country's secular identity, established in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is called into question. Although the AKP has said it would not interfere with the current system, many fear that the party is hiding its true intentions of establishing an Islamist state.

The European Union -- Another dominating issue remains Turkey's fight for entrance in the European Union. Many Turks see the possibility of an Islamist government as a threat to EU membership, but Gul denies this claim. "Look at what we have done in government for 4 1/2 years," he said in an interview with Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria. "We have worked harder than any party in Turkey's history to make this country a member of the European Union. We have passed hundreds of laws that have freed up the economy and strengthened human rights."

Kurdish Separatists -- Tensions have risen in past weeks as Turkey has amassed thousands of soldiers along its southern border with Iraq, where rebels of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have escalated attacks. The Iraq-based PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union, has fought Turkey for an independent Kurdistan for decades. Secular opponents have criticized Prime Minister Erdogan for not launching a large-scale incursion into northern Iraq or pushing for stronger U.S. support.

"We are seeing with great grief that America remains quiet as Turkey struggles against terrorism. Because there were promises given to us, and they need to be kept. If not, we can take care of our own business," Erdogan said recently on Turkish television. But he has remained hesitant to take military action before the July 22 general elections.

Washington has disputed recent claims that Turkey has stationed 140,000 troops on the Turkey-Iraq border. The U.S. government fears an incursion could create more conflict in a comparatively peaceful region of northern Iraq. Although AKP's perceived inability to act more swiftly against the PKK could lower their showing in the upcoming elections, the party is still predicted to win with a substantial margin.

Sources: The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Associated Press, Turkish Daily News