Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, appears certain to be elected Turkish president in spite of having failed to secure a two-thirds majority in parliament in a second round of voting held on Friday.

Gul, the candidate of the governing Justice and Development party (AKP), secured only 337 votes, 30 short of the two-thirds majority needed for his election, but he appears certain to be elected in a third round of voting scheduled for Tuesday when a simple majority of 276 votes is required.

Voting in the second round differed little from the first round held on Monday, with Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, candidate of the opposition National Movement party, receiving 71 votes and Tayfun Ilci of the Democratic Left party scoring 14.

Both rounds of voting passed without incident, in stark contrast to Mr Gul's initial attempt at being elected president back in April and May, which provoked an angry response from Turkey's fiercely secular military and brought millions on to the streets to protest against the supposed threat to democracy.

The subsequent parliamentary vote for the presidency was boycotted by the Republican Peoples' party (CHP) and failed to achieve a quorum, forcing the country into an early general election, which saw the AKP returned to power with an increased share of the vote and an overall majority in parliament.

Since then military leaders have opted to keep a lower profile, failing even to attempt to rally support against Mr Gul's renewed presidential candidacy, apparently resigned to his election and the arrival at the presidential palace of Hayrunisa Gul, who would become the first Turkish first lady to wear an Islamic headscarf.

With Mr Gul having pledged repeatedly his intention to uphold Turkey's secular constitution, attention has instead focused on Mrs Gul and her choice of head covering.

The CHP has already announced its intention to boycott the swearing in of the new president, while incumbent President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has signalled that he does not intend to host the Gul couple at the presidential palace before he departs.

This is not the first occasion that Mrs Gul's choice of head attire has caused controversy in Turkey.

In 2002, having been denied entry to university as a mature student on account of her refusal to remove her headscarf, Mrs Gul filed a case at the European Court of Human Rights, but subsequently withdrew it before a verdict was reached.