people instead of by parliament. In a statement posted on the presidential website, his office said Sezer would also ask the Constitutional Court to rule on certain objections he has regarding the reforms. The statement did not say what these objections were. Prime Minister Tayyip ErdoganÂ’s Islamist-rooted government introduced the reform plans after opposition parties, top judges and the army managed to derail its bid to have Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul elected president in a vote in parliament. The crisis has also forced Erdogan to bring forward a parliamentary election from November to July 22. Erdogan says allowing the Turkish people directly to elect the president instead of lawmakers will bolster Turkish democracy. But his critics say the move will upset delicate checks and balances in TurkeyÂ’s constitution.
Sezer, a stern secularist critic of the government, vetoed the reform plans in May but he does not have the right to veto laws a second time. He had just two options — to sign them straight into law or to call a referendum on the reforms. Under current constitutional arrangements, the referendum cannot be held before October, but the government is trying to shorten the period to allow it to take place on July 22, when Turks are due to elect a new parliament. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule next week on an appeal from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that would annul the government’s reforms on a technical voting irregularity.