More than a million Turks rallied on Sunday in support of secular democracy amid an unprecedented stand-off between the Islamist-rooted government and the army over presidential elections.
As calls for calm mounted, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a former Islamist and the sole candidate in the race to become president, ruled out withdrawing his bid, defying the army’s threat of intervention in politics.
The prospect of Gul becoming head of state has alarmed secularists who fear the strict separation of state and religion will be eroded and Islam will creep into all fields of life if he is elected.
“Turkey is secular and will remain secular,” the protesters who filled up Istanbul’s sprawling Caglayan square chanted.
“Neither Sharia, nor coup d’etat. Democratic Turkey,” they shouted, carrying Turkish flags and portraits of the country’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Police at the scene told AFP the number of demonstrators was well over one million. It was the second such rally in two weeks, following a similar one in Ankara on April 14.
Tensions rose after Gul narrowly missed becoming the country’s next president in a first round of voting in parliament on Friday.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) dominates the 550-seat parliament, but does not have the required two-thirds majority of 367 to get Gul elected in the first two rounds of voting.
The opposition, which opposes Gul as president, boycotted Friday’s vote.
The army, which has toppled four governments in as many decades, responded by saying it was determined to protect the secular system and take action if the need arose.
This made it clear, many analysts said, that Gul’s candidacy was not welcome with the army top brass.
The government retorted by calling the army to order and Gul said he would remain in the race.
“It is out of the question for me to withdraw my candidacy in any way,” he told reporters in Ankara.
The main opposition party has asked the Constitutional Court to cancel Friday’s presidential vote in parliament, arguing that the assembly did not have the necessary quorum to open the voting session.
If the court annuls the vote, general elections set for November 4 could be brought forward.
If it does not, Gul could be elected president in a third round of voting on May 9, when an absolute majority of 276 votes would suffice.
The court’s president said they would make decision before the second round of voting on Wednesday.
