ANKARA - Turkish lawmakers on Thursday voted for a constitutional amendment to elect the president by popular vote, the key provision in a package of electoral reforms that still needs to be approved in its entirety.A total of 37O legislators in the 550-seat house voted in favour of the amendment to change the current system of election by parliament, while one voted against it. An overwhelming number of lawmakers also voted in favour of an amendment authorising the Higher Electoral Board to organise the popular vote.
Both measures are part of a set of major constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to resolve a deadlock in parliament on who will be the countryÂ’s next head of state. The whole package needs to be adopted by parliament before being sent to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for approval.