Erdogan Changes Turkey’s Electoral Laws to Bolster His Rule
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Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved on Wednesday a set of changes to the country’s electoral rules that would bolster his party’s prospects and consolidate the shift toward an all-powerful presidency set to be tested at the ballot box next year.
The amendments reduce the threshold for a party to enter parliament but make it harder for smaller parties to win seats on their own, forcing them to run on tickets dominated by bigger rivals. The changes also close a loophole that would have allowed the country’s main pro-Kurdish party, currently the third largest in parliament, to circumvent a potential ban.