ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Egypt should hold elections as soon as possible in order to allow the military to transfer power to a democratically elected government sooner rather than later. “Free and fair elections should be held as soon as possible, with no toleration of chaos, instability or provocations, and constitutional democracy should be secured,” Erdogan said on Saturday. “The will of the Egyptian people should be reflected in the election results without any doubt cast on the legitimacy of the election,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by state-run Anatolian news agency. His comments were the first from Turkey since Mubarak was forced out by 18 days of demonstrations, bringing an end to 30 years of authoritarian rule. Turkey well knows the role the military can play, having come through military coups in the past, but is now a strong democratic state. Erdogan's press office did however, issue a statement immediately after Mubarak quit expressing support for the Egyptian people's demands for democracy and freedom, and calling on the military to hand over power to a new government after holding an election. BM