By Gulsen Solaker for Rueters

Turkey’s government plans to present to parliament within days a reform bill to advance its peace process with Kurdish militants, in a move that may boost support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a presidential election in August.

Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters while in Bucharest on Tuesday that the government had completed work on a legislative framework for the peace process and was seeking ministers’ signatures for the bill.

“I gave a presentation on it at the last cabinet meeting. A decision was made and within a couple of days we will present it to parliament as a draft law,” he said in comments broadcast on Turkish television on Wednesday.

Atalay’s comments come a week before the ruling AK Party announces its candidate – widely expected to be Erdogan – for Turkey’s first direct presidential election, due in August.

Kurds account for around a fifth of Turkey’s population, and their support could be decisive for an Erdogan bid, although an opinion poll this week suggested he could still win enough support without their backing.

The move also comes amid growing conflict in neighbouring Iraq between Sunni Islamist insurgents and government forces. While the Turkish reform package has long been on the table and is not seen as related to events in Iraq, it could in the long run also help cement positive relations with Iraqi Kurdistan.

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