BRUSSELS - The European Commission urged the Turkish military Monday not to interfere as Turkey's highest court prepared to review whether a presidential vote last week was legitimate.
"It is particularly important that the Constitutional Court ... can act in full independence from any undue influence," a spokesman told reporters, as the tribunal prepared to rule on the vote, which has sparked a political crisis.
In a first round of voting Friday, the Turkish parliament failed to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul -- the governing party's candidate -- president. Within hours of the vote the army, which sees itself as guarantor of Turkish secularism, issued a statement saying it was ready to act to preserve that secular identity.
More than one million people rallied in Istanbul on Sunday to support secularism and voice their opposition to Gul.
Gul, 56, was once a member of a party outlawed for Islamist activities and his wife wears the Islamic headscarf, seen as a symbol of political Islam.
"The remit of democracy should be left to the democratic institutions in Turkey according to the rule of law laid down in the Turkish constitution," the Commission spokesman said.
"Democratic secularism is of high value in the EU," he said, without elaborating.
The court is expected to rule on the vote before a second round vote scheduled for Wednesday.
The tribunal was asked by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to annul the presidential election process on the grounds that not enough lawmakers were present to make Friday's vote legal.
However, Turkey's constitution does not mention the quorum -- the number of members legally required -- for a presidential vote.
Turkey was granted candidate status in 2005 to join the European Union and that process will take at least a decade. The military's tendency to interfere in the political arena is one problem frequently highlighted by the EU.
04/30/2007 11:57 GMT