Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said he would press ahead with efforts to overhaul the constitution despite a court ruling vetoing some of his reforms. Erdogan says the changes are needed to bring Turkey's constitution in line with those of European democracies and to enhance the Muslim nation's bid for European Union membership.
Opponents see it as an effort to tighten the ruling party's control of state institutions after almost eight years in power. Reflecting these concerns, the Constitutional top court annulled two articles in the package last week while ruling it could still be put to a vote in a September referendum.
"Even if it's not the result we wanted from a technical standpoint, it is a package that includes our target for the referendum," Erdogan told reporters late on Saturday in his first comments since the ruling.
"I believe it can be said that this is all that can be done for a coup constitution," he said, adding that the ruling AK Party will begin a campaign for a "yes" vote this month or at the beginning of August.
The reform package is seen as a test of Erdogan's popular support ahead of an election due next year. AK traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement but says it is dedicated to Turkey's secular principles. It wants to change the national charter, drafted by the military in 1982, to meet European Union standards.
Opponents say the reforms lack a national consensus as only AK Party lawmakers voted for the package in parliament. "The constitutional changes take away our rights, our freedoms. Therefore we will say 'no' at the referendum," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party, according to Milliyet daily.
He said the reforms were aimed at taking control of the judiciary to evade corruption charges against AK members. A poll by A&G Research showed voters evenly split ahead of the referendum, with 40 percent backing the changes and 39 percent opposed to them.