ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Wednesday to rapidly examine a constitutional bill that would expand his powers, ahead of an expected referendum in April on the controversial legislation.
Erdogan's signature would be the final executive step in the adoption of the bill ahead of the public vote, a date for which Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said would be announced this week.
Parliament approved on Saturday the new 18-article constitution, which would create an executive presidency for the first time in Turkey, in the final of two readings.
Brawls erupted in parliament during debates over the bill, which critics fear will lead to one-man rule.
The changes are the most far-reaching constitutional shift since the creation of modern Turkey in 1923.
Erdogan told journalists in Madagascar during a tour of east Africa that he would make his decision on the bill "without delaying too much because the people are waiting for this".
The referendum would be held 60 days after Erdogan's formal approval is published in the Official Gazette, Yildirim said, adding that the date for the plebiscite was expected to be announced this week by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
"I think it will be in the first half of April, a suitable date would be up until the 20th (of April)," he said.
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