Turkish parliament approved 7 of 18 constitutional amendments in the first round of voting to move Turkey to an executive-presidential system.
All 7 articles received more than 330 votes. That number is the required majority to take constitutional amendments to referendum.
The changes will bring an increase to the number of lawmakers represented in parliament to 600 from the current 550.
Elections will be renewed every five years instead of four.
Parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously with presidential elections.
The new system enables the elected president to keep links with his or her political party and will be permitted to run it.
The Turkish parliament has also approved the constitutional reform bill that includes strengthening the powers of the presidency.
Mr Erdogan, who could now retain presidency till 2029, says the reform will provide stability in the European Union candidate country. His opponents fear authoritarian rule.
Bill was approved with 339 votes, parliament said ; it needed 330 deputies in the 550-member assembly to support it in order to go to a public vote.
Mr Erdogan assumed the presidency - a largely ceremonial position - in 2014 after over a decade as prime minister.
Turkey has also been hit by a spate of deadly bombings and gun attacks by Islamic State and Kurdish militants over the past year and a half.
Turkey: Know More- Capital: Ankara
- President: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
- Currencies: Turkish lira sign, Turkish lira
- Official language: Turkish
