Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government, whose presidential candidate dropped his bid in the face of protests from pro-secular lawmakers, pushed Monday for a constitutional amendment that allows the president to be elected in a popular vote rather than in a parliamentary poll. The withdrawal of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s candidacy for the presidency on Sunday was a new defeat for the government, which had to call for early general elections in a standoff that has exposed a deepening divide between the government and its opponents. Secularism is enshrined in the Constitution and fiercely guarded by the judiciary and the powerful military. Full Story
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