Turkey's parliament has confirmed July 22nd as the date for national elections in a move aimed at ending weeks of political crisis.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan proposed early elections after Turkey's top court ruled invalid the first round of a presidential election in parliament. Members of parliament unanimously backed Mr Erdogan's proposal.
The opposition boycotted the first round of the vote in parliament, preventing the required quorum and forcing the country towards early elections. The court ruled that without a quorum the election was invalid.
Foreign minister Abdullah Gul, the only presidential candidate, is a former Islamist, and opponents fear that Mr Gul as president and Mr Erdogan as prime minister would push Turkey towards an Islamist agenda - something they both deny.
"We made a decision which will end all of the controversies and give the word to the nation. Our dear nation will present its preference of the future," Mr Erdogan said.
Parliament's constitutional committee proposed holding the vote on July 22nd rather than June 24th as proposed by the AK Party, and CNN Turk quoted Mr Erdogan as saying he had no objection. Parliament's general assembly was expected to approve the date.