Turkish court agrees to referendum on constitutional reforms

Opposition parties to campaign for 'no' vote over fears that changes would give government too much sway over judiciary.

ANKARA // Turkey's highest court has given the go-ahead for a referendum in September on a series of government-backed constitutional reforms, rejecting a request from opposition political parties that the measures be cancelled. The constitutional court made slight adjustments, however, to two measures that the secular opposition feared would increase the Islamic-oriented government's sway over the judiciary.

The opposition said today that the adjustments made in the ruling late last night did not go far enough, and has promised to campaign against the reforms in the referendum. The reforms would increase the number of constitutional court justices and members of a council that oversees prosecutors and judges, giving parliament and the president the right to appoint some of them. * AP