 Speaker of the Parliament Bülent Arınç stated that the current president "would have to unfortunately retire" which would make Arınç the proxy president until a president is elected.However lawmakers argue that the current president would continue to serve until a replacement is elected.On May 3 Turkey's Parliament moved up elections to July 22, 2007, after the Islamic-rooted ruling party and its secular opposition agreed that an early ballot was the only way out of their standoff over political Islam.