Gul after the poll. (AP)

Ankara, May 6 (Reuters): Former Islamist Abdullah Gul withdrew his candidacy for Turkey’s presidency today after pressure from the military and demonstrators who accuse his ruling party of subverting the nation’s secular order.

A dispirited-looking Gul made the move that could ease a crisis in Turkey after his ruling AK party failed to gain a quorum in parliament to elect him.

“After this... my candidacy is out of the question,” foreign minister Gul told reporters after the roll call in parliament. “I don’t feel resentment.”

Gul, leading architect of Turkey’s EU membership bid, has not yet formally withdrawn, but the next president is now expected to be elected only after early general polls on July 22. He was the only candidate.

His bid, backed by the AK party, revealed a deep divide over the future direction of Turkey, which has a strongly secular constitution but a predominantly Muslim population.

The AK Party is expected to win the next general election, according to opinion polls, but it is too early to say whether they will be able to form a single party government again.

The Nato-member has seen a wave of large protests by secularists who demanded Gul withdraw his candidacy. That was accompanied by rising alarm in the military at the prospect of a former Islamist becoming president and commander-in-chief.