ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkey may hold early parliamentary election this year, if the Grand National Assembly fails to adopt the constitutional amendments to switch to a presidential system of governance, Mustafa Sentop, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said Thursday.
The corresponding draft bill was submitted by the AKP in December.
"If the parliament fails to adopt the constitutional amendments, it will be necessary for Turkey to hold early election in spring or in autumn, though, nobody wants them to be held," Sentop, who is also heading the constitution commission of the parliament, told the Anadolu news agency in an interview.
17 November 2016, 10:15 GMT
The draft bill will need the approval of at least 330 members of parliament before it can be put to the popular vote in a national referendum. The AKP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporting the amendment currently have 355 seats in the parliament.
Earlier in January, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said the referendum could take place in early April if the bill passes.
The controversial bill seeks to give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping powers in a move described as a power-grab by the opposition Republican People's Party and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party.
