BY MAHMUT OVUR
SABAH- Turkey has just gone through five very tense days. First we waited for last Friday's first round of the presidential election. We wondered if 367 deputies would be present in Parliament for the vote. Whether the two center-right parties - the True Path Party (DYP) and the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) - would take part only became clear at the last minute. Tension was at a high. But as these parties boycotted the vote, the issue went to the Constitutional Court, as expected. Just then, the General Staff issued a midnight statement on its website. We were on tenterhooks: What was going to happen? The next morning, the government's reply to the harsh statement of the General Staff was also tough. The tension burst. The markets were the center of attention now. We wondered if a new crisis would break out. Fortunately, the markets have overcome these waves with a minimal harm. Not only our democracy but also the economy proved to be stronger than before. They were buffeted but didn't sink.
Later things came to such a point that even some deputies of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began to favor the Constitutional Court annulling last week's vote. Because there was only one solution from that moment on: to go to the public, to start the process of early elections. The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that a quorum of 367 is needed for the first round of the presidential voting. Thus, the cure to ailing democracy was found: holding general elections as soon as possible. The response of the political will wasn't long in coming. Again, at midnight, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared his decision, relieving the public: The people will decide. In fact, the most striking part of this statement was related to the presidential election. The AKP made a new proposal which could radically change the administrative structure: a popular presidential election. On the other hand, lobbying is still going on in full force. Those making careful plans think that the general election won't change the current situation. Thus some groups foresee a midterm election and are planning deputy transfers. As we can see, the coming days won't be easy ones.