TURKEY: In Turkey yesterday, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed constitutional changes aimed at allowing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader, Mr Tayyip Erdogan, enter parliament and become prime minister.
Mr Erdogan, whose party won a landslide victory in a general election last month, is banned from parliament due to a 1999 conviction for Islamist sedition.
The veto could prove a major blow to political stability in the NATO member and EU candidate, where markets are already on edge over a possible US-led attack against neighbouring Iraq.
The changes would have let Mr Erdogan stand in by-elections early next year and become prime minister. But Mr Sezer said the constitution could not be altered to benefit one single person.
Parliament, which passed the changes during Ankara's efforts to meet EU membership criteria, must now decide whether to vote on the laws again.
But their passage through the assembly a second time could spark tensions between the AKP and Turkey's military.