However, the election failed after the constitutional court declared the first round of voting invalid, on the grounds that a quorum of two thirds was necessary.

The reforms proposed consisted of the following: Parliament first passed the amendments on May 11, but Sezer vetoed the bill over concerns that the change could pit a president with a strong popular mandate against the prime minister and cause instability.

On June 4, opposition lawmakers also said they could seek a cancellation of the vote by the Constitutional Court on the grounds of procedural flaws.

[7] Furthermore, Sezer vetoed another law, which would have made it possible to hold the constitutional referendum on 22 July 2007 instead of in October, making the reform increasingly unlikely to take place before the election.

Presidents job description and powers demands that the policies originated from this position should reflect a balance, which all the parties can trust [or at least agree on].

Since the original text of the referendum question called for "all presidents starting with the 11th" to be elected by popular vote, the incumbent (eleventh) president would have had to stand down and have his election reconfirmed by popular vote; therefore, the AKP amended the text before the referendum, in a parliamentary session on 16 October 2007.