Hürriyet Daily news published an article by Murat Yetkin headlined "Gül signals no step back from second term."
"If the talk of the town in Ankara last week was real and if Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s timing in opening up his “democratization package” on Sept. 30 really was an attempt to dominate public attention a day before the opening of the legislative year - in which President Abdullah Gül was due to make his traditional opening speech - one might say that Gül really outmaneuvered such a hypothetical move with his performance yesterday," the article begins.
"Gül’s appearance in Parliament with his wife and Mrs. Gül’s presence in the presidential lounge, alongside top generals, definitely put Gül under the spotlight with a lot of bonus points, despite the fact that one of Erdoğan’s package promises was to lift the headscarf ban in public institutions," the author writes.
"Gül’s was also the last election of the Turkish president by Parliament. Through a referendum in September 2007, the system was transformed into a two-stage, popular vote one. So next year in August the new president will be elected through a popular vote for a five-year term, (which could be repeated for a second term), and with a 50 percent plus one vote at most in the second round."
"It is no secret that Erdoğan wants to be the next president. And not just any president; he wants more presidential powers, less separation of powers and even less checks-and-balances over the presidency. That has been a matter of concern not only for opposition parties but also people like Cemil Çiçek, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) original parliamentary speaker and Haşim Kılıç, the conservative head of the Constitutional Court," the article reads.
"Gül has signaled no step back from the race for the next presidency, and he will be in the political scene one way or another," the author concludes.
