Following an all-out brawl in the Turkish parliament, MPs have approved key measures likely to lead to constitutional reform.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the legislation will strengthen Turkey and prevent a return to fragile coalition governments.
Changes to 18 articles of the constitution are proposed. Eight have been approved. Among those are measures: setting out parliament’s supervisory role; enabling the president to retain ties with a political party; and outlining the president’s executive powers as head of state, which includes the authority to issue decrees.
It brings Erdogan one step closer to the executive presidential system he’s been pushing for, but the measures will need to pass in two more rounds of voting before being put to a referendum.
The constitutional package as a whole is expected to be voted on by the Turkish public as a whole in the spring.
