More than 480 lawmakers, both from the government & opposition, voted for amendments allowing Erdogan (C) to run in future elections

ANKARA, December 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Turkish lawmakers passed a law for the second time allowing Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of Turkey's ruling party, to become prime minister, as the prospects of war against Iraq got the cold shoulder from Turkey, which said it wanted U.N. approval for war before any action.

Turkish lawmakers voted Friday, December 27, for a second time in favor of constitutional amendments to allow the ruling party's banned leader to become prime minister despite a veto imposed by the president last week.

More than 480 lawmakers in the 550-seat house, both from the government and the opposition, backed in a vote shortly after midnight the amendments which would pave the way for Erdogan, to run in future elections, the deputy parliament speaker announced, AFP said.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer last week vetoed the changes and sent them back to parliament for reconsideration on the grounds that they were tailored on the basis of a specific objective, to get Erdogan elected.

Sezer does not have the right to reject the amendments a second time, but he can put them to a referendum.

Erdogan, 48, was banned from taking part in the November 3 elections, in which his party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) won an overwhelming parliamentary majority, because of a 1998 conviction for sedition imposed on him for reciting a poem with Islamic overtones at a political rally.

Erdogan said he had been reciting the poem for the last twenty years of his life and that it was nothing new.

The ban also barred him from becoming prime minister and subsequently Abdullah Gul became prime minister .

The constitutional changes aim to allow Erdogan to run in a by-election, due as early as February 2002 following a decision by electoral authorities to cancel elections results in the southeastern province of Siirt on procedural grounds.

Many observers believe Sezer will choose not to call a referendum so as not to create a political crisis at a time when the country is dominated by the prospect of a war in neighboring Iraq.

Turkey rejects a unilateral war on Iraq

"We and government officials say Turkey will not clarify its decision [on possible military action against Iraq] without a U.N. Security Council resolution," said Erdogan.

Turkey, home to strategic U.S. air bases, is facing intense pressure from key ally Washington to provide support for a possible attack on Baghdad, said AFP.

Turkey's government and top brass were due to hold a key meeting Friday to discuss whether to give that support.

The only Muslim member of NATO, Turkey has long called for a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis and has also insisted that any military moves against Iraq be based on international legitimacy and consensus.