Turkey's 2007 Elections: Crisis of Identity and Power

The effort of Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party AKP to elect one of its own to be president of the Republic provoked a crisis. The nominee, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, has roots in Turkeys Islamist movement and his wife wears a head scarf, which some secularists consider a symbol of both Islamism and backwardness. Moreover, because AKP already controls the prime ministry and parliament, some argue that the balance of political power would be disturbed if the party also assumed the presidency. The opposition boycotted the first round of the vote for president in parliament and engaged in mass demonstrations against the possibility of an AKP president. The Republican People s Party CHP asked the Constitutional Court to annul the vote, and the General Staff of the armed forces warned that the military is the defender of secularism and would act if needs be. After the Court invalidated the vote, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called early national elections and proposed package of constitutional amendments, including one for the direct election of president. Current Pres. Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed the package and parliament passed it again. Sezer cannot veto it a second time he can only allow it to pass or refer it to a national referendum. CHP has petitioned to the Court to invalidate the package. In the meantime, the campaign is underway for national elections on July 22. Opposition parties are maneuvering to better combat the very effective AKP political operation. AKP and CHP may be attempting to move to the center, where most Turkish voters reside. A few other parties also have the potential to win seats in parliament. Turkey has been democratizing in recent years, yet none of the major contending parties is consistently democratic. The outcome of the election is uncertain. AKP may again win a majority or only win a plurality and then have to form a coalition. The former result could provoke another crisis if AKP tries the presidency.