German FM considers Turkish presidential candidate Abdullah Gul a reliable partner

May 3, 2007 - 15:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament approved the new schedule of presidentiasl elections May 2. The first stage of elections is scheduled for May 6 and the further stages will be held on May 9, 12 and 15. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated he will insist on holding early parliamentarian election on June 24. However the Central Electoral Commission of the country offered another date - July 22. Premier Erdoğan is going to reach amendments into the Organic Law. Particularly he offers to elect the president by a national vote and not by the parliament.

Yesterday the Turkish Constitutional Court declared invalid results of the first stage of presidential elections, which was held last Friday. The presidential candidate is moderate Islamist Abdullah Gul, whose candidature was offered by current Prime Minister Erdoğan. Gul could not gather the necessary number of votes. Gul is a representative of the ruling Justice and Development pro-Islamic party. Up to this moment he occupied the post of Foreign Minister.

High military commanders "blocked" the way of Gul's victory in the presidential elections. The Turkish army, which is considered the main bases for secular state, threatened the Prime Minister with a coup if his ally in the party will become Turkey's 11th president. The Constitutional Court ruled that the elections "fall short of demands of the Organic Law", since there was only one candidate. But actually the second candidate - representative from the ruling party Ersönmez Yarbay willingly withdrew his candidature.

Now only one question worries everyone; what an end will have the dispute between commanders and moderate Islamists and if this conflict will result in a military coup like in 1960, 1971 and 1980.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated it is necessary to support Turkey on his way to the EU. He called presidential candidate Abdullah Gul a reliable partner, Deutsche Welle reports.