Constitutional amendment

Kyrgyzstan has voted in favor of constitutional changes boosting the power of its government, the Central Election Commission said on Dec. 11, citing preliminary results of a national referendum. 

The constitutional amendment package introducing a shift to a presidential system will be submitted to Turkey's parliament at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, private broadcaster CNN Turk has reported.

The Serbian National Assembly has finished a debate in principle on the 2017 budget bill, with a debate on amendments to begin on Thursday.

Nearly 300 amendments have been proposed to the budget bill, with over 30 put forward to the amended budget system bill.

Ombudsman Maya Manolova and representatives of the initiative committee for the carrying out of a National referendum 2016 will submit to Parliament a draft bill on amendments to the Electoral Code.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan may remain at his post until 2029 if the powers of the executive are increased.

This is envisaged in the newest version of the project for constitutional amendments drafted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to be submitted to a referendum next spring.

Hungary's Parliament has rejected the constitutional amendment proposed by PM Viktor Orban for a ban on the settlement of asylum seekers in Hungary, reported Reuters.

After the failure of the referendum on migrant quotas, this is a new blow against the Prime Minister which can make it difficult for him to continue with his fight against the migrant policy of the EU.

The Legal Parliamentary Commission has rejected the proposal for amendments to the Electoral Code which stipulate that, via a decision of the Central Election Commission (including on the day of the election itself), voting with paper ballots in voting sections abroad may be done with more than one urn, reported Focus Agency.

Bulgarian MPs from parties participating in the ruling coalition or supporting it have proposed relaxing some of the restrictions for voters abroad which have been adopted with the latest amendments to the Electoral Code.

The MPs tabled the latest draft amendments to the Electoral Code concerning the voting abroad on Thursday.

Lawmakers have reversed a ban on beach camping out of specially designated place which was voted earlier this spring, but sparked protests.

The latest amendments are prepared to match public expectation that a set of rules and regulations should be introduced with regard to beach camping.

Slavi Trifonov, a popular TV host, has called on President Rosen Plevneliev to veto the amendments to the country's Electoral Code.

Changes voted earlier this week made it possible to hold a referendum separately from an election scheduled for the same year. Prior to that, any referendum had to be held simultaneously with a vote if these were to take place in the same year.