Turkey’s constitutional referendum on switching to a presidential system of governance could be held in the first week of April, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said Monday.
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.
“The referendum might be in the first week of April,” Canikli said.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) submitted its draft amendment early last month.
It will need the approval of at least 330 lawmakers before it can be put to the popular vote. AKP and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporting the amendment currently have 355 seats in the parliament.