Turkish President Gul to stay in office for 7 years

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's Constitutional Court has ruled that Turkish President Abdullah Gül's term in office is seven years, officially ending confusion over whether he would serve five or seven years in the post, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The ruling also granted Gül the right to run for the presidency again in the next elections, albeit only for a five-year term.

By allowing Gül to stay in office for seven years, the court has ruled out any possible presidential elections in August.

Parliament elected Gül for a single seven-year term in 2007, but a charter amendment enacted since then limits presidents to two five-year terms.

The opposition has argued that the amendment is binding for Gül.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), however, insisted that the amendment could not be implemented retroactively to shorten Gül’s original tenure.

In January the government passed a law fixing his term at seven years.