Sabah columnist Muharrem Sarıkaya argues that Abdullah Gül was not Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's first choice for the presidency, and that Erdoğan's position only shifted toward Gül within a single month. The candidacy, Sarıkaya writes, was settled only in the final days before the announcement.
Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç played a decisive role. At a 23 April reception, Arınç declared he would accept no candidate other than Gül, which effectively closed the door on Vecdi Gönül. Sarıkaya notes it was the second time Arınç had blocked Gönül's path, the first being the earlier contest for the speakership.
The main procedural hurdle facing Gül's candidacy is a constitutional requirement that at least 367 members of parliament be present for the presidential vote to proceed. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has stated it will press for strict enforcement of that threshold.
The True Path Party (DYP) intends to boycott the vote altogether. Within the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN), opinion is split: one faction favors blocking the election to force an early general vote, while another expects the process to end at the Constitutional Court if CHP files a formal challenge.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2007, in its own words.