Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul looks set to become Turkey's president next week, completing the Islamist-rooted AK Party's capture of all key posts in the country despite strong opposition from army generals.
European Union-applicant Turkey has been mired in political turmoil since April when the ruling AK Party first nominated Mr Gul, a respected diplomat, as their candidate.
"His election as president is as good as guaranteed. Next week (August 28th) he will get the sufficient number of votes and will be sworn in with lightening speed on the same evening," wrote Mehmet Ali Birand, a leading Turkish columnist.
Turkey's army, which has ousted four governments since 1960, and the powerful secular elite have opposed Mr Gul because of his Islamist past and the fact his wife wears the Muslim headscarf, seen by secularists as a provocative symbol of religion.
The country of 74 million people is predominantly Muslim but is governed by a secular constitution. The AK Party is accused of seeking to undermine a separation of Mosque and state dating back to the foundation of the republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The party denies the charges.
The secular elite - which includes the powerful army generals, judges, the heads of universities and other officials - derailed a first presidential election in April, a move which sparked early parliamentary polls. That election was handsomely won by the centre-right pro-business AK Party on July 22nd.
A newly elected chamber has begun another round of voting to pick between Mr Gul and two other candidates to replace staunchly secular incumbent Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
Parliament failed to elect Mr Gul in the first vote on August 20th. It will hold a second on August 24th, but Mr Gul is unlikely to be elected until the third round on August 28th, when he needs a only simple majority. The AK Party holds 341 of the 550 seats.