BY BILAL CETIN
VATAN- The July 22 general elections aren't ordinary ones, but in fact early and extraordinary. Parliament's inability to elect a new president a couple of months ago made the elections inevitable. It's the first time this provision of the Constitution has been triggered.
Two weeks from now, voters will not only elect Parliament and the ruling party but also show their preference for the presidential election. They will show which party they want the president to come from.
A constitutional amendment for popular election of the president is in the pipeline, but right now it seems that our next president will be elected by Parliament under the current procedures based on a voluntary or involuntary compromise among the parties. All the political party leaders projected to cross the 10% threshold seem to have reached a compromise, as signaled by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest remarks that they'll be open to compromise during the new term. At least it can be said that no party leaders can deadlock the system and force a constitutional referendum and subsequent two-round presidential election by popular vote after the early general elections.
The failed presidential election in April didn't show what could happen but in fact, strikingly, what couldn't happen:
1. Even if it has more than 350 seats in Parliament, no single party can elect the president without compromise.
2. Insisting on someone whose views and attitudes on the basic values of the republic and secularism are controversial, rightfully or not, raises societal tension, disturbs state institutions including the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and harms the democratic process. The scene after this month's elections is important in that it will determine which party will have the strongest say in electing the next president.
It's all but clear that the new Parliament will be made up of three parties. No single party with 367 or even more seats can elect the president without compromise. Even getting the 275 seats needed for a single-party government won't be such easy. Maybe the new Parliament will have to seek compromise for not only the presidential election but also for a government coalition.
Can a compromise be reached? Looking at the recent remarks of Prime Minister Erdogan, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, it can be. All three leaders have guaranteed that the next president will be elected through compromise.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the premier believe that they will be the top party with more than 300 deputies, and they say that they will suggest more than one candidate to the opposition.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, whose failed candidacy triggered the general elections, won't be on that list. Could Erdogan propose State Minister Abdullatif Sener, whom CHP leader Baykal once said he approved of as a candidate?