Death penalty joins constitutional initiatives in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim have announced their support for reinstatement of the death penalty for future crimes, which would all but foreclose Turkey’s hopes of EU membership. Some have suggested that Erdoğan is supporting the move in order to generate greater public support as he seeks to consolidate executive power.

“Georgian Dream” party wins constitutional majority. Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, won enough parliamentary seats in Sunday’s vote to unilaterally amend the country’s constitution. Some speculate that the party will consider reducing the president’s power or replacing direct presidential elections with a parliamentary vote.