Turkey's Presidency Vote Annulled

[Heibges]

BBC World News

Turkey's presidency vote annulled.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6612831.stm

The constitutional court in Turkey has annulled last Friday's parliamentary vote to elect a new president.

The only candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, failed to win the required majority after a boycott by secularist opposition parties.

Government spokesman Cemil Cicek said the ruling AK party would propose its candidate again.
But another ruling party lawmaker, Sadullah Ergin, said only a timetable for a new vote would be set.

Army concern

After the ruling, Mr Cicek said the government would be prepared to meet an opposition call for an early general election provided parliament agreed to lower the age limit for MPs to 25.
AK believes this will boost its electoral chances.

But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says the army had made it clear it would not tolerate Mr Gul as president.

It warned it would defend the separation of state and religion, the legacy of the state's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Istanbul in support of secularism. Mr Erdogan appealed for national unity in a televised address to the nation on Monday.

Ataturk was the man!