Turkey's prime minister met with his ministers Saturday after the country's military voiced deep concern over the presidential election in a statement experts said was an ultimatum to the Islamic-rooted government.
In a statement posted on its Web Site late Friday, the powerful pro-secular army declared it was monitoring the election with concern and indicated it was ready to become more openly involved in the process.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidential candidate -Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul - declined to win enough votes in a first round of voting in Parliament. In a comment against the military, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, the government spokesman, said the government said any military warning to the government was “not acceptable in a democratic order.”
According to the AP, opposition lawmakers have called for early elections as the only way out of the impasse.
