Turkish Parliament approves judicial body reform

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, has now won support for two of the package's three main reform pillars before an overall vote expected on Thursday evening or Friday.
Hoping to win a third term in a parliamentary election due by July 2011, Erdogan has put constitutional reform at the top of his agenda but faces a battle to complete the legal process.
Turkey's lira currency weakened two percent and bond yields hit a high for the year on Thursday due to global market weakness, and prospects of a legal wrangle over the reforms were also seen as unsettling for investors.
The reform of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which government critics see as a bid by the AK Party to boost its influence over the judiciary.
The measure secured 334 votes in the 550-seat assembly, exceeding the 330 threshold needed to keep the initiative in a package that Erdogan intends to submit to a national referendum for approval.
Deputy HSYK Chairman Kadir Ozbek vowed on Thursday to fight the overhaul of his organization.
"We are obliged to fulfil our duty of defense. We will continue our struggle until the end," broadcasters quoted him as telling reporters.
Lacking the 367 seats needed to pass a constitutional reform bill into law through parliament, but possessing enough seats to put the proposals to a referendum, Erdogan is banking on public support for changes to a charter that was written during a period of military rule that followed a coup in 1980.
The AK Party says the reforms are needed to bring Turkey closer to the norms of the European Union, which Ankara aims to join.
Critics accuse the AK Party of using reforms to undermine the independence of the judiciary, a bastion of Turkey's secular establishment, and install supporters in top judicial posts, as part of a long-term strategy to roll back secularism in Turkey.
The AK Party denies having an Islamist agenda.
The main opposition party has said it will appeal to the Constitutional Court to annul the amendments.
Parliament was scheduled to resume voting on the remaining articles at 12 noon (0900 GMT), with Erdogan gathering with his MPs for a final meeting beforehand.
The reforms also make Turkey's traditionally powerful and secularist military answerable to civilian courts.
The country's chief prosecutor, who previously tried to close down the AK Party, has said the reforms are undemocratic.
There has been speculation that he could launch a fresh attempt to ban the party.
On Monday, an article that would have made political party bans harder, another of the three pillars of the reforms, failed to get enough votes in parliament to be included in any package put to a referendum.
The failure of this key piece of legislation resulted from dissent among AK Party MPs.
But Erdogan appears to have restored party discipline in the subsequent votes, and another key plank of the reforms, overhauling the Constitutional Court, won the backing of the assembly on Tuesday.