Two interesting articles about the political situation in Turkey right now: yesterday was an exciting day, to say the least.

Today’s Zaman:

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking Wednesday at the meeting of his party’s parliamentary group meeting, commented on the decision of the Constitutional Court concerning the first round of the presidential election.

“This is a bullet fired at the heart of democracy,” he said, and argued that they would however pay due respect to the decision, which would fuel significant controversies in legal circles. Noting that the election of the president by the Parliament has been blocked, Erdoğan maintained that it will almost impossible for future parliaments to elect presidents.

He suggested that it had been made possible for the minority to rule the majority, and added: “A party that represents the minority of the people will bargain with a party that represents the majority, insisting on its case. This is unacceptable for democracies. We risk even a referendum in order to eliminate this blockade.”

Nonsense of course. Yet another sign that Erdogan does not know much about democracy. Having early elections is the ultimate democratic thing to do in a situation like the one in Turkey right now. If a sizeable majority raises hell, like it does now, the majority should pay attention to that minority. Besides, as I understand it, polls show that a slight majority of the Turkish people oppose Gül.

Asking the people what they think of it is, obviously, not an attack against democracy at all. In fact, I would say, perhaps this will cause Turkey to become more democratic: perhaps this will teach them that it are not the members of Parliament who should elect the President, but that the President should be elected directly by the people.

Turkish Daily News:

The late British statesman Winston Churchill was not describing Turkish politics when he coined the adage, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” But the phrase summarizes the mood in Ankara yesterday as the capital reacted to effective cancellation of a nomination round for a new president with more questions than answers amid a cacophony of calls for early elections, constitutional amendments and even an interim, caretaker president to replace the retiring Ahmet Necdet Sezer…

The lingering confrontation in the presidential election process, with Turkey’s powerful military, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Constitutional Court and the opposition all at odds, continued yesterday with questions far more plentiful than answers.

Following interference in the process by the military and the country’s top court, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) offered a constitutional package, which proposes to swap the current parliamentary nominating system the president with direct elections by the public.

The package, however, added to controversy in the Turkish capital. Former Supreme Court of Appeals chief prosecutor Sabih Kanadoğlu, who first raised the issue that led to cancellation of first-round nominations – the now-famous number of 367 for a legal quorum — argued that the current Parliament cannot enact a constitutional amendment while engaged the presidential election process. It also remains unclear whether the public will face twin elections or if the constitutional package could be implemented before the early general elections proposed for a variety of dates, including June 24 and July 1.

Legal experts are divided as to who will be acting president until the new president is elected. The current parliamentary speaker, Bülent Arınç, suggested himself for the caretaker job yesterday. Others insist only the current president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is legally available.

Whatever happens, not Arinc please. He is just as bad, if not worse than Erdogan and Gül, at least that is how I understand it.