ISTANBUL - There will be no bargaining over a new constitution for Turkey and the ruling AK Party will seek the 330 votes it needs in parliament to put the matter to a referendum, Prime Minister AhmetDavutoglu was quoted as saying on Sunday.
In an interview with broadcaster A Haber, Davutoglu said his AK Party would have the full support of all of its 317 deputies for a new charter and that it would seek additional opposition backing to win the 330 votes needed for a referendum.
A cross-party commission charged with drafting a new constitution collapsed last month after the main opposition pulled out over attempts by the AKP to change Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system.
Senior AKP officials told Reuters last week that the party was working on its own proposals despite the opposition resistance, plans which could hand President TayyipErdogan powers to draft legislation directly and pick ministers.
The AKP has broad support for overhauling the constitution, which dates back to an era of military coups and has been repeatedly revised. But there are wide divergences over what a new charter should look like. (Reuters)