Early Polls in Turkey

Erdogan's ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) formally proposed bringing parliamentary elections forward to June 24 as a way out of a crisis that has resulted in a dangerous standoff between the government and the staunchly secularist armed forces.

The move came a day after the Constitutional Court annulled Friday's first-round parliamentary vote for a new president, in which Erdogan's closest aide, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, was the sole candidate.

The ruling "almost made it impossible" to elect a president in parliament and was "a bullet fired at democracy," Erdogan said in an impassioned speech to party deputies.

The Turkish parliament's constitutional committee said general elections should be held on July 22 instead of in June, as Erdogan had requested. The date for new election still needs to be approved by the entire parliament.´

The current Turkish political crisis erupted over widespread opposition to the prospect of an AKP president because of concerns that the party is not truly committed to Turkey's fiercely guarded secular system and is eroding the separation of state and religion.

Tensions reached a climax late Friday when the influential military accused the government of failing to prevent rising Islamist activity and threatened to intervene.

The unusually harsh statement came hours after a parliament ballot -- boycotted by the opposition -- in which Gul fell 10 votes short of the required two-thirds majority to make him Turkey's next president.

Secular Turks demonstrate

More than one million pro-secular Turks demonstrated in Istanbul at the weekend against an AKP president, after a similar mass rally two weeks earlier in Ankara.

Erdogan, who has led Turkey since March 2003, insisted Wednesday that his party was committed to secularism.

He also urged respect for differences -- an apparent reference to objections raised over Gul's wife wearing the Islamic headscarf, seen by secularists as a symbol of political Islam.

"The essential problem is to manage to stay united, preserving our differences," he said. "Rights and freedoms are necessary for everybody."

Pointing to the most popular slogan at the anti-AKP protests, he said: "They say 'Turkey is secular, it will remain secular'. We do not say anything different -- yes, Turkey is secular, it will remain secular."

EU warns army

The European Union warned the army that it could harm Turkey's membership prospects if it interferes in politics.

It urged all parties to respect the court's decision "regardless of the unfortunate events leading to the ruling" and said the elections should be "carried out democratically without any undue interference."

The AKP's proposal must be voted into law by parliament for elections to be brought forward from their current November 4 date.

The Constitutional Court said the presidential election process should begin anew because a quorum was lacking in Friday's first round.

Presidential poll re-run on Sunday

Parliament fixed a new timetable, setting the first round re-run the presidential election for Sunday. Gul said he would not press ahead with his candidacy if he fails again.

Throwing down the gauntlet to the opposition, Erdogan said the AKP would also push for comprehensive constitutional amendments, including the election of the president by popular vote rather than by a parliamentary ballot.

The financial markets welcomed the prospect of early elections, with the national index of the Istanbul stock exchange rising by 1.67 percent and the Turkish lira gaining ground against the dollar.