But Gul is expected to be elected in the third round of voting on August 28, when only a simply majority is required for victory.

Gul's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party does not have enough support to win two-thirds of the vote, but it does have a majority. Turkey's main opposition party is boycotting the presidential vote.

In the first round of voting Monday, Gul received 341 votes, falling short of the 367 needed for a two-thirds majority in the 550-member parliament.

Gul, a devout Muslim, is distrusted by Turkey's secularists because they fear he will undermine the country's constitutionally enshrined secular principles.

Gul's wife wears an Islamic headscarf, which has been banned in Turkey's public offices and schools since a 1980 military coup.

His nomination for president earlier this year sparked a political crisis in which thousands of secularists took to the streets to protest his candidacy. Turkey's military threatened to intervene to protect the country's secular system, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the military not to get involved.

Mr. Erdogan strongly supports Gul's nomination.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters. - Voa News