ANKARA
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that the constitutional amendment on early local elections he returned to parliament for its re-discussion on Tuesday lacks content and it is pointless to urge citizens to vote for it.
Answering the questions on his return of the constitutional amendment, Gul said that the only change made by the amendment was a change of date and it was pointless to urge all the citizens to vote just for a change of date in a cold winter day. He said that accommodating with the public opinion, he returned the amendment and the Turkish Parliament will decide on it.
Turkish parliament originally approved the amendment on October 12 to hold local elections six months earlier by 360 votes, just seven votes short of a two-thirds majority needed for it to pass without a referendum.
Local elections were scheduled for March 2014 and the amendment brings them forward on October 27, 2013.
