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| Turkish MPs force reform showdown | Turkish MPs force reform showdown |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Turkish MPs have defied a presidential veto by approving for a second time controversial reforms that would allow ordinary voters to elect the president. | Turkish MPs have defied a presidential veto by approving for a second time controversial reforms that would allow ordinary voters to elect the president. |
| An earlier motion in favour of the reforms was vetoed by outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. | An earlier motion in favour of the reforms was vetoed by outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. |
| He cannot use his veto again and must now either accept the constitutional reforms or put them to a referendum. | He cannot use his veto again and must now either accept the constitutional reforms or put them to a referendum. |
| Turkey's Islamist-rooted government says the reform plans are popular and could end a political stalemate. | Turkey's Islamist-rooted government says the reform plans are popular and could end a political stalemate. |
| Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of the governing AK Party, has said the reforms will make Turkey more democratic. | |
| But President Sezer says a directly elected president would make the executive too powerful and upset Turkey's constitutional checks and balances. | |
| The president is currently elected by parliament. | |
| The vote comes after MPs failed to elect the AKP's presidential candidate, Abdullah Gul. | |
| Turkish secularists suspect the AKP has an Islamist agenda. |