Parliament has given initial approval to a constitutional amendment bringing forward local elections by six months, a move seen as giving Turkey's prime minister more time to prepare for an expected presidential bid.
The amendment will be put to a referendum in 60 days if President Abdullah Gul does not return it for a second debate. The polls are the first in an electoral cycle that includes a presidential election a few months later, in which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is expected to be a candidate. The local elections will now be held in October 2013.
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