Turkey's Gul says would uphold secular constitution

ANKARA, Aug 14 (Reuters) Turkey's presidential hopeful Abdullah Gul pledged today to uphold the country's secular constitution if parliament elects him head of state.

''Protection of secularism is one of my basic principles. Nobody should worry about this,'' Gul told a televised news conference, adding that he would be a president for all Turks.

Turkey's secular elite fears Gul, an ex-Islamist, will try to chip away at the separation of state and religion if elected president.

Parliament will start to elect the president in a series of votes beginning next Monday. Gul is expected to seal his victory with a win in the third round of voting on August 28, when he needs only a simple majority of votes in parliament.

Gul's ruling AK Party, centre-right and pro-business, believes Foreign Minister Gul is the best man to succeed secularist President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, whose mandate has expired.

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