If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simple majority rule still applies.

In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock.

On 6 May 2007, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül withdrew his candidacy after the Parliament failed to achieve a quorum for a second time.

[5] On 14 April 2007, two days before the start of the nominations announcement for the presidential elections, over one million protesters[6][7] marched in the centre of Ankara, chanting slogans such as "Turkey is secular, and it will remain secular", and "We do not want an imam for President" to protest against the possibility of Prime Minister Erdoğan or another member of the Justice and Development Party standing in the presidential elections.

A second rally was organised for 29 April 2007 opposing the candidacy of Abdullah Gül from the Justice and Development Party, which has its roots in political Islam.

CNN Türk put the figure of those participating in the rally in defence of secularism at 1,370,000, the largest protest of its kind in Turkish history.

[8] A third mass rally took place in the western Turkish towns of Manisa, Çanakkale, and Bodrum in defence of the secular republic.

On 27 April 2007, the Turkish Armed Forces issued a statement of its interests on its official website, later termed the "e-memorandum" by Ural Akbulut: "...The problem that emerged in the presidential election process is focused on arguments over secularism.

... the Turkish Armed Forces are a party in those arguments, and absolute defender of secularism..." [9] In response to these statements, government spokesman Cemil Çiçek made a speech.

The parliament initially passed constitutional amendments for electoral reform (including election of the president by popular vote, shortening the term from seven to five years and allowing a second term) on 11 May, but Sezer vetoed the bill on 25 May over concerns that the change could pit a president with a strong popular mandate against the prime minister and cause instability.

Nevertheless, the CHP and Sezer filed for a cancellation of the vote by the Constitutional Court, citing alleged procedural flaws.

If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simply majority rule still applies.

In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock.

There were hints that the prime minister might seek a consensus candidate,[17] but ultimately Gül was renominated by his party on 13 August,[18] after MHP announced its decision not to boycott the elections.

[21] The secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, was another potential consensus candidate from the Justice and Development Party, in the event that Gül was unsuccessful.

While Gül is seen as the favorite, a controversy started after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's last speech.

Erdoğan said "The people who say that (Gül is not my president), must renounce their citizenship" on television in reply to an article of Bekir Coşkun, a columnist known for his opposition to the ruling AK Party.