Turkey will hold a referendum by next May on constitutional changes expanding the powers of President Tayyip Erdogan, who survived an attempted July coup and is now conducting a purge of suspected participants, from generals to judges and journalists.
Meanwhile, the ruling party will submit a bill to Parliament on Saturday expanding President Erdogan’s powers, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
The constitutional change, which has been sought by Erdogan since he became president in 2014, would see Turkey switch to an executive presidency along the lines of the United States or France.
“Our proposal to change the constitution will be submitted to the Turkish parliament tomorrow,” Yildirim told reporters on Friday.
The announcement followed months of talks between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Yildirim and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Election in 2019
Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli told A Haber television in an interview on Friday that parliamentary and presidential polls would then be held in 2019, cementing a radical change in power structures long sought by Erdogan.
“The referendum looks like it could be held around March or April, but it could also be pushed to May,” Canikli said, ruling out any early election before 2019.
A senior official from the ruling AK Party, in power since 2002, said the party would submit its proposal on the constitutional changes to parliament on Saturday.
Erdogan has turned a largely ceremonial presidency into a powerful platform at a time of domestic upheaval by drawing on his own unrivalled popularity. The AK Party now seeks a strong executive presidency that while formalising his personal powers could avert any relapse into the fractious coalition governments of the 1990s.
AKP officials refer to the current system as a “de facto presidential system.”
Opponents, however, fear the change will bring increasing authoritarianism to a country already under fire from Western allies over its record on rights and freedoms, especially after purges following the coup attempt.
Canikli said he expected all members of the AKP to vote in favor of the proposal and that the nationalist MHP opposition would also support the bill.
“The leaders of the AKP and MHP are in agreement at the moment, the following period is one for the commission and general assembly,” Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers.
Turkish assaults on Daesh
Turkish-backed fighters launched an assault on the Daesh-held city of Al-Bab in northern Syria on Friday, opposition fighters said, and Turkish warplanes hit dozens of militant targets in support of the offensive.
Hundreds of Arab and Turkmen fighters involved in the assault took control of at least two villages west of Al-Bab, the fighters said. Turkish state media said late on Thursday that Ankara had sent 300 Turkish commandos to northern Syria as a reinforcement.
The operations are the latest in Turkey’s “Operation Euphrates Shield,” a military incursion launched three and a half months ago in support of the rebels, and meant to push both Daesh militants and Kurdish fighters back from the border.
The Turkish army said its air strikes on Friday morning destroyed 34 Daesh targets, including militant bases, shelters, vehicles mounted with guns, and ammunition depots. Ten targets had also been hit the day before.
The military also said the rebels it backs had seized control of an important highway between the towns of Al-Bab and Manbij, around 50 km to the east.

Source: Arab News