Turkey's parliament early Saturday backed a controversial bill that would dramatically expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The parliament in a late-night session approved the seven final sections of the 18-article constitution and in a final vote the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) received 339 "yes" votes for the bill as a whole.

The party needed at least 330 or more votes -- a three-fifths majority -- for the adoption of the constitutional change and to send it to a referendum for final approval.