ANKARA (Sputnik) — The draft, which envisions a switchover to the presidential system, will be submitted to parliament next week, Yildirim said.
"We need the number of votes for the new draft constitution to exceed 330, after which it will be put to the referendum, which, I hope, will take place in early summer 2017," he told reporters in Ankara.
The draft is supported by the AK Party, holding 316 seats, and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), with 40 seats.
In order to secure a referendum to replace the parliamentary republic by the presidential system, the constitutional draft needs 330 votes, while it could pass directly without a referendum if approved by more than 367 parliamentarians. However, the AK Party announced it would take the constitution to a referendum in any case.
