The governing Justice and Development Party submitted a draft law including 29 amendments to the Parliament to reform the constitution, a legacy of a 1980 military coup, arguing that the changes would make it more democratic and strengthen the country's bid to join the EU.

“The proposal includes measures that increase standards of democracy, the law and protect individual rights while expanding the right of collective bargaining,” Bekir Bozdag, a senior member of the governing party, said after submitting the draft law.

However, opposition parties have criticized the government for trying to increase its political clout over the secular judiciary and to save its party, which narrowly escaped a ban by the Constitutional Court for allegedly undermining secularism in 2008.

A parliamentary vote could come as early as next week, but there is a strong possibility of a referendum on the amendments this summer since there is no consensus to comfortably pass them. The government, which has strong electoral backing, says the amendments will be voted as a whole in case of a referendum.

Devlet Bahceli, head of the opposition Nationalist Action Party, said it would not support the amendments.

“The constitution package is not designed according to needs of Turkey but special needs of the” governing party, Bahceli told his lawmakers on Tuesday. “The government has dragged Turkey into a new conflict with this fait-accompli attempt.” The changes would increase the number of justices of the Constitutional Court to 17 from 11 and give power to the parliament to appoint three of them. Another measure would increase the number of prosecutors and judges on a key council that oversees all prosecutors and judges in the country to 21 from 7, and enable the president to directly appoint four of them.

Another key amendment would make disbanding political parties more difficult by first seeking consensus within the parliament to open a case against any party.

Under the amendment, lawmakers would maintain their seats even if their party is shut down and those banned from politics by court decision will not be able to join a party for three years instead of five. It also would prevent speeches by lawmakers within parliament to be used as evidence in a case.

The reform package seeks to put anyone who allegedly committed crimes against the state, including military officers, on trial in civilian courts and allow those fired from the army by a high military council for alleged links to radical or other groups to appeal the verdict.

The amendments pave the way for the trial of those who carried out the 1980 coup, annulling a temporary clause in the current constitution drafted under the auspices of the military. The measure is symbolic and no one is likely to be put on trial since the 20-year statute of limitations expired ten years ago.

The package covers a wide-ranging issues from expanding rights of women and children to protection of privacy and extending collective bargaining to civil servants but without the right to strike.