A European Union official has warned Turkey's military to stay out of politics after it expressed concern about the election of a new president. Olli Rehn, the EU expansion affairs commissioner said Saturday that the election was a "test case" for the Turkish military's respect for democracy.
The military issued a statement of concern Friday after Abdullah Gul, the candidate of the Islamic-rooted ruling (AK) party, failed to win enough votes in Parliament to become president in the first round of balloting. The statement said it should not be forgotten that Turkey's armed forces are a staunch defender of secularism.
Secular Turks fear that Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are trying to undermine the country's secular system of government.
Gul fell 10 votes short of the required 367 to be elected in the first round. A second round is set for next week.
In 1997, Turkey's military helped engineer the ouster of an Islamic-oriented government.
Prime Minister Erdogan has said he has broken with his Islamist past and does not have an Islamic agenda. Gul has also said if he is elected, he will abide by the secular principles laid down by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's term expires on May 16. - VOA News
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