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Turkey set to elect new president Turkish president vote challenged
(about 23 hours later)
Turkey's parliament will begin voting for a new president on Friday, but the election could be overshadowed by an opposition boycott and procedural row. Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has failed to gain enough support in parliament to become Turkish president.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) has said it will not vote because it was not consulted on the ruling party's choice, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul. Mr Gul, the ruling AK Party's candidate, won 357 votes - 10 short of the two-thirds required.
The CHP is also threatening to challenge the election in court if fewer than two-thirds of MPs vote. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said it will challenge the election in court because not enough deputies were present.
The Justice and Development Party is 15 seats short of the required majority. Secular opposition parties want to stop the Islamist-rooted AK Party from winning the presidency.
Party officials have therefore been holding meetings with independent MPs and the leaders of the centre-right Motherland and True Path parties, who together control 24 seats, to garner support. CHP boycotted the vote because it was not consulted on Mr Gul's selection as the AKP's candidate.
If they fail, Mr Gul may not be formally confirmed in his new post until after a third round of voting on 9 May, when only a simple majority in the 550-seat chamber would be required. Turnout dispute
'Comfortable' CHP says it will challenge the election in court because only 361 MPs were present at the vote, fewer than the 367 (two-thirds) it says is required for a quorum.
Yet despite the threat, AKP leaders remain confident of securing a first-round victory for Mr Gul. The AKP, which holds more than 350 seats in parliament, had said only one-third of MPs were required for the vote to be acceptable.
"In my view, everything is very clear," the speaker of parliament, Bulent Arinc, told reporters. "It is clear there were not the required 367 members present, so we are making our application to the court [to annul the election]," senior CHP deputy Haluk Koc said.
"This parliament will elect the 11th president of Turkey comfortably." A second round of voting is due on Wednesday and the constitutional court has said it will try to rule on the appeal before the vote.
Legal experts have also said the opposition's argument for having the election result annulled by the constitutional court is without merit. PRESIDENTIAL VOTE President chosen by 550 MPsTwo-thirds majority (367) needed to win in first or second roundSimple majority (276) needed if the contest reaches later roundsOpposition want vote invalid if under 367 MPs attendParliament speaker insists usual quorum of 184 will suffice class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6595511.stm">Profile: Abdullah Gul
Mr Gul was named the Islamist party's candidate on Tuesday by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If the court backs CHP's appeal, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be forced to call a general election.
But if it backs the government, Mr Gul is expected to win in the third round of voting on 9 May, when he needs just 276 votes.
Mr Gul's only opponent in the election - Ersonmez Yarbay, also an AK deputy - dropped out of the running on Friday.
"The opposition wants to bring two candidates face-to-face with each other by not joining the vote. So, I withdraw my candidacy," Mr Yarbay said.
Secular traditions
The modern Turkish state was established on strict secular principles and traditionally, the country's presidents have been secularists.
If Mr Gul is elected he will be the first incumbent to have Islamist roots, and the first president whose wife wears an Islamic headscarf.
Secularists fear that a president from the AKP - the initials of the Justice and Development Party - could undermine Turkey's secular order.
Mr Gul was named the AKP candidate on Tuesday by Prime Minister Erdogan.
The decision came after thousands had taken to the streets to urge Mr Erdogan not to stand.The decision came after thousands had taken to the streets to urge Mr Erdogan not to stand.
Secularists fear that a president from the AKP could undermine Turkey's secular order. After his nomination, Mr Gul pledged to adhere to the republic's secular principles if he were elected.
After his nomination, Mr Gul pledged to adhere to the republic's secular principles if he was elected.
Officially, the Turkish president's duties are largely ceremonial and the post is regarded as less powerful than that of the prime minister.Officially, the Turkish president's duties are largely ceremonial and the post is regarded as less powerful than that of the prime minister.
But the presidency, first held by the revered founding father of the modern Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the 1920s, holds tremendous symbolic importance for Turks. But the presidency, first held by the revered founding father of the modern Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s, holds tremendous symbolic importance for Turks, the BBC's Pam O'Toole reports.
The president has limited constitutional powers, including the ability to veto legislation. That was done on a few occasions by current incumbent Ahmed Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist, in response to AK-driven bills.