Today the Turkish parliament set August 20th as the date for the first round of presidential elections with a second round taking place on August 24th, a third on August 28th, and a fourth on September 1st. The announcement came three months after Turkish political system was thrown into chaos when the Justice and Development (AKP) ruling party sought to elect an Islamic-rooted candidate for president and the fervently secular parties boycotted the parliament to prevent the necessary quorum for an election. Follow-on snap elections resulted in another victory for the AKP.

The prime minister Erdogan of the AKP party has said that he would seek to propose a consensus candidate time; however, foreign minister Gul has indicated he may again seek the nomination. If the AKP is unable to get the parliament to agree to a presidential candidate by mid-October, then the president may be popularly elected. In Turkey, the parliament selects the president, but a referendum is schedule for the October 21st, 2007 that would amend the constitution for the direct election of the president. If the parliament selects a president before the referendum, the newly selected president will serve a full seven-year term. If, however, the parliament fails to agree on a candidate, then the new president would be popularly elected.

The Washington Institute provides a good summary of the event here.