Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday rubber-stamped controversial constitutional changes that will boost his own powers, paving the way for a referendum on the legislation in April.
"People will have the final say," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said in comments carried by the state-run Anadolu news agency, announcing that the referendum would take place on April 16.
Parliament in January approved a new 18-article constitution to create an executive presidency.
Under the new constitution, the president will have strengthened executive powers to directly appoint top public officials including ministers.
The post of prime minister, currently held by Erdoğan loyalist Binali Yıldırım, would be replaced with one or more vice presidents.
