Turkey's Erdogan must now heal divisions

By Paul de Bendern

ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has achieved what few Turkish politicians would have dreamed possible only a few years ago --- securing the re-election of a party with roots in political Islam.

Just 10 years ago the army removed from power a party it deemed too Islamist for a country whose secular system the military is duty-bound to defend under the constitution.

A year later, Erdogan, then mayor of Istanbul, found himself briefly in jail -- for reading a religious poem at a rally.

On Sunday his ruling AK Party won nearly half the popular vote in a parliamentary election, streets ahead of its nearest, secularist, rival -- and the 53-year-old was looking forward to ruling the secular, Muslim country for another five years.

The son of a poor sea captain took a gamble by calling the poll early after losing a dangerous battle with the secular elite over who would be president, and won the people's backing.

But in Turkey, where the military-backed elite has long controlled all key institutions, that is not the end.

A hot-tempered but charismatic politician, Erdogan must now muster all his skills to capitalise on his victory and unify a country deeply divided over the role of religion, ethnic minorities and potential membership of the European Union.

And judging by recent events, including mass pro-secular rallies and military threats to intervene in politics, more surprises lie ahead for a resourceful outsider who as a boy sold day-old bread rolls to pay for school.