Lowering age of candidacy shows trust in youth: Kilic

By Ilknur Cetinbas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's youth and sports minister Friday spoke out in favor of lowering the eligible age of running for parliament, one plank in a package of constitutional changes set to face a referendum on April 16.

"The candidacy age is set at 18 in 57 countries around the world, why not make it 18 in Turkey? Will we not trust in our youth? We trust our youth in every way," said Akif Cagatay Kilic, appearing as special guest at Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk in Ankara.

Referring to the measure, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said Thursday that Turkey’s 18-year-olds should take a role in the country.

Last October, Turkey's parliament adopted by a vote of 342-137 the article lowering the age of candidacy for parliament from 25 to 18.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said a referendum on the constitutional change package is now expected to be held on April 16.

Erdogan approved the package Friday. Under law, a referendum will be held on the first Sunday following a 60-day period.

The constitutional changes have been discussed since Erdogan was elected president in August 2014. The overall package was passed by parliament in January, with 339 votes in favor -- nine more than needed to put the proposal to a referendum.

The reforms would hand wide-ranging executive powers to the president, and the post of prime minister would be abolished. The president would also be allowed to retain ties to a political party.

Other changes include raising the number of deputies to 600. Under the new constitution, simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019.