Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Sunday withdrew as the sole candidate for the presidency just hours after the parliament failed to reach quorum in order to hold a vote, DPA reported. "I do not see the point in having another round (of voting) again on 9 May," Gul said Sunday evening. "The decision is now for the country." Opposition parties refused to attend Sunday's parliamentary session in protest at Gul's candidacy, the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) sole candidate for the position. A total of 351 lawmakers attended the session, 16 short of the two-thirds of 550 seats in parliament that the Constitutional Court last week ruled was needed to reach quorum. A second attempt to reach quorum 10 minutes later also failed. Sunday's failure was expected well in advance and the parliament had already given approval on Thursday for early elections to be held on July 22 in order to end the impasse.
