Turkey opposition leader warns PM over presidency

ANKARA, July 27 (Reuters) The leader of Turkey's main opposition party was quoted today as warning the government against trying to re-submit Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as its candidate for president.

Tensions between the Islamist-rooted AK Party, which won a resounding victory in last Sunday's parliamentary election, and the powerful secular establishment are on the rise again following signals from Gul that he will make a fresh bid for the presidency despite secularist opposition.

''It was gratifying to hear the prime minister say he would resume the search for a presidential candidate by speaking with the opposition,'' the state Anatolian news agency quoted the leader of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, as saying.

Turkey's financial markets have fallen over the past two days partly on fears of fresh political tensions.

''Now we await the prime minister's initiatives in this direction... I hope the prime minister will not drift once more into the mistake of imposing a president on the opposition,'' said Baykal.

He did not name Gul specifically, but his party has made clear it opposes his candidacy.

Secularists object to Gul because of his Islamist past and his wife wearing the Muslim headscarf, though many in Turkey and abroad say the smooth-talking diplomat, an architect of Ankara's European Union entry bid, would make a good president.

The secular elite, including army generals and top judges, derailed an earlier AK Party bid to have parliament elect Gul as president.

Gul's chances have improved after an ultra-nationalist party said it would attend the presidential election in parliament, allowing the AK Party to secure a quorum for the vote.

The CHP played a key role in blocking Gul in the May presidential election in parliament. That led Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to call an early parliamentary election to defuse the row.

Erdogan has said he wants to avoid further tensions with the secular elite over the presidency, but Gul signalled on Wednesday he remains his party's candidate for the top job.

Gul, who as president would be commander-in-chief of the armed forces and would have powers to appoint top judges and university rectors, denies any Islamist agenda.

Baykal, whose party performed disappointingly in Sunday's election, has indicated he would again boycott the voting if the AK Party re-proposes Gul as its candidate.

REUTERS GT HT1600