Mehmet Ali Sahin

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) brought together prominent party figures, past and present, in a bid to mobilize them ahead of the April 16 referendum on shifting Turkey to an executive presidential system, though former President Abdullah Gül and former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu were not present at the meeting. 

Arrested lawmakers from the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) could be released from pre-trial detention, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Mehmet Ali Şahin has suggested.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be his party's presidential candidate at the vote this August, ruling AKP officials say.

The widely expected announcement comes briefly after President Abdullah Gul declared he was not intending to stand for a second term in office, amid speculations he might try to do so and could put Erdogan's ambitions in jeopardy.