BY AYDIN AYAYDIN
SABAH- The Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Second General Congress is getting attention because the next presidential election is set for next May. Behind the scenes, it seems that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the strongest presidential candidate and also that if Erdogan wants it, the AKP group could elect another candidate from its ranks with full support. Such names as Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener are being mentioned. Certain sources within the AKP say that Erdogan is also among them, but that if he wants to stay party leader, a surprise candidate might be in the offing. Will Erdogan run for president? I think so. He has the votes in Parliament to take him to the Cankaya Presidential Palace. In the past, Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Turgut Ozal and True Path Party (DYP) leader Suleyman Demirel were elected president this way, weren't they? What's more, they didn't enjoy such a large majority. If this logic is used, there's no problem. However, after both Ozal and Demirel were elected, their parties suffered and they found no peace in Cankaya.
Political parties other than the AKP, the military and other candidates aren't welcoming Erdogan's possible candidacy. We might like Erdogan or not, but the leader of a political party which came to power with the public's votes must be able to be a prime minister or president. Erdogan has certain characteristics distinguishing him from Ozal and Demirel, that is, Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan wears a headscarf and Erdogan's political past and the political party he leads are along a religious axis. Then one question comes up: Millions of people who voted for the AKP back in 2002 knew that Emine Erdogan was wearing a headscarf, didn't they? They also knew Erdogan's ideological tendency and the AKP's political views, didn't they? Of course they did. So even the people who didn't vote or brought the AKP to power have no right to hide behind this excuse. In spite of such developments, I believe that Erdogan wants to become president. If nothing unexpected happens, this seems very likely. But if Erdogan is elected, the next AKP leader can't bring it back with single-party rule in November 2007. So I don't know if Erdogan will be comfortable in Cankaya. The AKP's General Congress will be held this Saturday. The outcome of this meeting will give important signs of whether Erdogan will run for president. If Erdogan is thinking of being elected president, he will determine the 50-people list for the AKP's Central Decision Administrative Board (MKYK) accordingly. But if he wants to remain party leader, the list will also change accordingly. So this congress might give important signals on next year's presidential election as well.