Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan signalled today he will not pick his party's presidential candidate until an official deadline amid tension with Turkey's secular elite and uncertainty over whether he will stand.
Mr Erdogan, a politician with Islamist roots, has said he is committed to Turkey's secular system of government but secularists, including army generals, fear he will seek the top role and try to erode the separation of state and religion.
"We will assess the presidency subject until the last minute," Mr Erdogan told reporters after a meeting of his ruling AK Party gave him the power to decide when to announce a candidate.
"There is time until (the official deadline of) midnight on April 25th ... We will make an announcement in a group meeting. Will it be on the 24th or the 25th? We will see," he said.
Financial markets are nervously watching who will succeed the staunchly secular President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in the large Muslim country spanning Europe and Asia.
Today, the lira currency and shares ended lower. In Turkey, the government holds most power but the president can veto laws once, appoints many key officials and is commander in chief of the armed forces.
The presidency also carries great symbolic weight. Mr Erdogan is the most popular politician in Turkey, a NATO member and now seeking membership of the European Union. He has presided over strong economic growth.