The parliament Friday set the first round of voting for August 20, followed by a second round on August 24 and a third round on August 28. The presidency is decided by a vote of parliament members only, not by a nationwide vote of Turkish citizens.

In April, a secularist campaign blocked the Islamist-rooted governing party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from electing a member of his party as president.

Turkey's newly-elected parliament on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to choose ruling Justice and Development Party member Koksal Toptan, a secular politician, as the new speaker.