ANKARA (Thomson Financial) - Turkey has approved sweeping constitutional reforms to elect the country's president by popular vote and to stage general elections elections every four years.
Turkey's High Electoral Board said that with all of the votes counted in the nationwide referendum, 69.1 pct backed the government-sponsored changes while 30.8 pct voted against.
But turnout was 67.3 pct, far lower than the 85 pct recorded in general elections on July 22, the board said.
Some 42.6 mln voters were eligible to take part in the vote which was overshadowed by heavy clashes Sunday between Kurdish separatists and Turkish troops in the southeastern border region with Iraq which left 12 soldiers and 32 rebels dead.
The reforms provide for the head of state to be elected by popular suffrage for a once-renewable five year term, instead of being chosen by parliament for a single seven-year mandate.
It also sets legislative elections every four years instead of the current five. tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com jag COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.