Ankara: Turkey's ruling AK Party yesterday won parliamentary backing for constitutional reforms, clearing the way for a referendum secularist critics aim to block as a threat to the country's secular order.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says the reforms, overhauling the judiciary and making the army answerable to civilian courts, simply meet European Union entry demands. Political enemies see a furtive attempt to seize control of all levers of state.

"The reform package has been approved... Let it bring good things to our country," parliament speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin said after lawmakers passed the bill shortly after 2 am, ending a marathon session.

The bill, which makes changes to a constitution drafted after a 1980 military coup, passes to President Abdullah Gul for signature.

Lacking the two-thirds majority to give it automatic effect, it must then go to a referendum the government wants to hold in July.

The main opposition party has said it will appeal to the Constitutional Court to block any referendum.

"Given the court's track record, there is a significant chance that it will cancel the changes and halt the referendum process, which would raise the risk of early elections," analysts at Finansbank wrote in a note.

The secular-minded Constitutional Court has struck down several key AK reforms in the past.

Such a scenario could lead to institutional paralysis, which could force Erdogan, whose electoral mandate runs into mid-2011, to call a snap election.

His prospects for such a vote are unclear, but markets would certainly be wary of any return to the fragmented, warring coalitions of the 1990s.

The country's chief prosecutor, who previously tried to close down the AK Party, has said the reforms are undemocratic, mirroring critics' accusations that Erdogan seeks to undermine the independence of the judiciary and instal supporters in top judicial and civil service posts.

There has been speculation he could launch a fresh attempt to ban the party, which embraces centre-right and nationalist elements as well as a core of religious conservatives.

Failed bid

The government had tried to include an amendment making it harder to ban political parties, but the article failed to get sufficient votes to be retained in the reform package that will go to a referendum.

Turkey has changed radically since the 1970s, when its economy was heavily state-controlled and its politics bitterly fragmented and often violent.

The AK Party, since taking power in 2002, has pressed on economic reforms and curbed the power of the military, which has removed four governments since 1960.

In doing so, it has so far drawn support among the middle classes and business.