BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- The first round of the presidential election was held yesterday. The votes showed that the deputies cast ballots along party lines. No surprise! While the voting was going on, I took the pulse of the deputies. This time there was less tension. The most important reason for this was that the quorum of 367 was met yesterday. As all the parties except the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) were present, the high emotions (of the aborted election earlier this year) were not to be found. But the focus of discussions was, once more, the stance of the CHP. Deputies of both the ruling and opposition parties were talking about why the CHP boycotted the session. The Democratic Left Party (DSP) fielding a candidate and being present for the vote was resented by the CHP deputies. Citing DSP leader Zeki Sezer's promise before last month's general elections that they would act like a group with the CHP, they said that in fielding a candidate in order to join the vote Sezer seems to have forgotten his pledge. The DSP deputies, on the other hand, said that they view the prospect of Abdullah Gul becoming president the same way as their CHP colleagues, but their method differs. For instance, DSP Istanbul Deputy Ahmet Tan characterized Tayfun Ycli's candidacy as a counter-measure.
CHP leader Deniz Baykal told me yesterday that their not taking part in the voting was a democratic right and supervision mechanism, explaining that this CHP stance will make Gul move more cautiously should he become president. According to Baykal, Gul won't feel so free to take steps opposed by the CHP. `If Gul takes steps in favor of the core principles of our republic, of course we'll be delighted,' said Baykal. `But if he works against these values, the CHP will oppose him with all its power. With this move, the CHP fulfills its responsibility as the party which founded the republic. It's performing a kind of supervision.' Baykal also said that characterizing the CHP's stance and rhetoric as the voice of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the CHP as a supporter of military intervention is a sign of ill will and by no means objective. Saying that it was the CHP and the left which suffered the most during past military interventions, Baykal reiterated that his party is fulfilling its duty of protecting the core values and principles of the republic."