Act Two for a Divisive Nominee

Turkish Party Defies Secularists With Presidential Pick

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 13 -- Turkey's Islamic-oriented ruling party decided Monday to renominate the country's religious-leaning foreign minister for president, raising the possibility of another showdown with secular factions, including the military.

Abdullah Gul will be the candidate, Murat Mercan, a senior party official, confirmed after a meeting of the Justice and Development Party. "Gul is a statesman who has great experience," Mercan told CNN-Turk television. "I believe he would be very successful."

When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed Gul, an economist, as his party's candidate earlier this year, opposition groups accused Gul of wanting to scrap the secular traditions of this predominantly Muslim but officially secular nation.

Opposition lawmakers boycotted the previous presidential voting in parliament, leading Turkey's top court to annul the balloting for lack of a quorum and prompting early elections, which Erdogan's party won last month. Secularists staged large demonstrations; the military hinted it was prepared to intervene to defend the secular tradition.

The renewed candidacy suggests that Erdogan's party bowed to pressure from its grass-roots supporters to challenge secular circles.

Although the post is largely ceremonial, the president has the power to veto legislation and government appointments.

The current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, has often frustrated Erdogan's government by blocking its initiatives. He vetoed a newly passed constitutional amendment in June that would have allowed citizens rather than legislators to elect the president.

Erdogan's party won a majority of parliament seats in the July 22 elections, but it did not secure the two-thirds needed to approve a presidential candidate on its own during the first two rounds of voting.

The president can be elected by a simple majority in the third round, but only if two-thirds of parliament members participate. There has been no threat yet from opposition groups to again boycott the balloting.

Cihan Pacaci, a senior member of the Nationalist Action Party, reiterated that his party pledged support to reach a quorum to prevent a new political crisis. "I don't see a chaos ahead," Pacaci told NTV television.

Still, a new fight could be looming from opposition groups that had urged Erdogan to nominate a compromise candidate. "It is not appropriate to have a president who has problems with the founding philosophy of the Turkish Republic," said Deniz Baykal, leader of the main opposition party, the pro-secular Republican People's Party.

Onur Oymen, a senior member of the Republican People's Party, said Gul's candidacy is a serious threat to Turkey's secular principles. "Gul's candidacy is not expected to contribute to peace and stability in the country," he told NTV.

Gul, 56, asked for meetings with opposition leaders Tuesday to seek their support, CNN-Turk reported. The first round of voting in parliament is due Monday.

Sadullah Ergin, a member of the ruling party, rejected criticisms of the foreign minister. "Gul has the right to be president like anyone else," Ergin told CNN-Turk.