This means the requisite quorum of 367 will be met and that Abdullah Gül will be elected president. Before I explain why I say Abdullah Gül, I must note that Mr. Bahçeli has avoided making the same mistake as Mumcu and Ağar -- by respecting the public’s will. Bahçeli was able to correctly interpret the democratic message of the citizens in the latest elections: “The elections were held and the public mandate has made the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) the leading party. The AK Party will be able to choose anyone it wants for the presidency. The decision is the AK Party’s.” It seems that the MHP will open a process that the Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) blocked, ending the need to seek a consensus.
Why is the AK Party’s candidate Abdullah Gül? A few days ago, Mr. Gül told a press conference that he could not “ignore the signals from the streets.” Prime Minister Erdoğan, who supports Gül’s candidacy, also said the “voice of the streets” was clear.
The prime minister said he would meet with different party leaders to reach a consensus over the candidate; I have defended this approach as proper for the new period. Although Mr. Bahçeli’s constructive stance has resolved this problem, the prime minister will most likely still meet with party leaders as a friendly political gesture. On July 22, the will of the public chose a full democracy. If Gül is not nominated as the presidential candidate it will be a deep act of disrespect to the 85 percent of the public and 85 percent of the Parliament which support his nomination. But after Bahçeli’s declaration, it is certain that the AK Party will choose Gül. If the AK Party nominates anyone else, people will question who or what the AK Party fears. The wide support Mr. Gül received on the streets made it seem as if the public was electing the president. Have you ever heard someone say, “He has every right to become president”? That is what citizens are saying -- “Gul has every right to become president.” We don’t need a referendum to understand that both the Parliament and the public will choose Mr. Gül for president. At this point, objections are no longer significant.
But there are still some people who have lost total respect for the public and will ramble on with objections. What type of justification is there to prevent someone who has successfully served as both prime minister and foreign affairs minister, is a respected world figure in the East and West and also highly regarded by the public, from becoming president? Can we say “You can become the prime minister, you can become the foreign affairs minister, but you can’t become the president?” Is his wife’s headscarf going to be perceived as a threat to laicism? Even the founder of laicism, the West, has clearly said that it finds this to be silly. On Samanyolu television’s “Sunday Talk” program last month, European Parliament liberal group leader Graham Watson defended Mr. Gül’s wife’s head cover and said his own mother also wore a head cover.
No one should attempt to ruin the wonderful atmosphere in Turkey with delusions and suspicions that even the public opposes. Turkey is on the path to prosperity, and no one should even think of harming our people and country. Institutions need to support mutual social agreement. It is time for democracy to prevail in this country.
