ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, the sole candidate in presidential elections whose first round was scrapped by a court Tuesday, urged speedy early legislative polls if parliament fails to elect him in a repeated vote.
"Let us us see if the lawmakers have changed their minds after all these developments," Gul said in an interview broadcast on TRT state-television.
"The number (of lawmakers in support of his presidency) may increase or decrease, but, after that, my personal opinion is to call... elections at the earliest possible time," he said.
He was speaking shortly after the Constituional Court annuled a vote in parliament on Friday in which Gul, a former Islamist fielded by the ruling party and rejected by the opposition, narrowly missed becoming the next head of state.
05/01/2007 17:39 GMT