Abdullah Gül has been elected the 11th president of the Turkish Republic. Some analysts called his candidacy controversial and warned of a major backlash. All that is past now. A number of challenges lie ahead for Gül. The challenges, however, are not only for him but also for the future of Turkish democracy. Gül received 339 votes in the third round. This is more than the last three presidents got: Turgut Özal got 263, Süleyman Demirel 244 and Ahmet Necdet Sezer 330. The choice of the new Turkish Parliament reflects the will of the majority of Turkish voters. According to a recent poll conducted by research firm Konda, if there was an election today the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) would get 54 percent of the vote. This means two things: First of all, there is still a steady flow of votes from the center-right (Democrat Party, DP, and Motherland Party, ANAVATAN) to the AK Party. And second, Gül’s presidency has been interpreted as the right choice by both the AK Party and other center-right voters.
Now in the palace President Gül faces a number of challenges. First he will have to transform himself from a politician and a member of the AK Party into a statesman who will keep his post above party politics. This is not as easy as it seems. He will work with an AK Party government and naturally would want to play a constructive role in important political issues, but this will likely be interpreted by the opposition and criticized as siding with the government.
Second Gül will be pressed on the issue of secularism. Some people already see his ascendancy into presidency as a foregone conclusion for the withering of secularism in Turkey. As evidence, they cite Gül’s past and his wife’s headscarf. Given the current state of democratic debate in Turkey, both claims and fears are baseless. Gül, like his generation of politicians, has come a long way from the ‘70s and ‘80s, transformed himself into a mainstream center-right politician, and taken up a number of important government positions.
As for his wife’s headscarf, this is a problem for the alienated and marginalized secularist elite, not for the average person in Turkey. To refer to Konda’s recent study again, it shows that about 80 percent of Turkish people do not see any problem with the first lady wearing a headscarf. Why? Because it represents the average Muslim identity of Turkish society.
In spite of strong popular support, however, both Gül and his wife will be watched closely. The secularist opposition will raise the headscarf issue as the end of secularism and the promulgation of moderate Islam. But if Turkish democracy is to mature and stand on firm political principles, such fears and bans will have to be overcome. A first lady with a headscarf is likely to be less visible than many think. Gül will not make a point of his wife covering herself, but this is an important step towards the normalization of Turkish politics.
Contrary to what some Western media outlets say, this does not make Gül’s presidency a “controversial” one. There is always room for disagreement in a healthy democracy. No one should expect a 95 percent agreement on all issues. This would not be democracy, but autocracy. Yet those who disagree must now respect the result and strengthen their opposition by using legitimate means. Trying to provoke the army on the issue of secularism will only further alienate the secularist elite.
There is also a major challenge for the AK Party, which now has control over the Prime Minister’s office, the Parliament and the Presidency. Will the AK Party monopolize power in favor of a narrow political agenda as the critics say? Or will it continue to put this concentration of power to good use with the principles of transparency and fairness? Considering Prime Minister Erdoğan’s record, he, like Gül, will be careful treading the path of power. Having a presiden