Turkey PM Formally Gives Up on Coalition as Polls Loom
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to formally acknowledge he cannot form a coalition government, paving the way for new elections just months after June polls.
In line with procedure, Davutoglu was to return to Erdogan the mandate he received from the president on July 9 to begin coalition talks with opposition parties, the official Anatolia news agency said.
Their closed-door meeting began at 1700 GMT at Erdogan's presidential palace in Ankara, NTV television said.
With all possibilities exhausted before a August 23 deadline to form the new government, Turkey is now facing snap new polls and entering uncharted political territory.
In a major setback for Erdogan, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its overall majority in the June 7 legislative polls for the first time since it came to power in 2002.
Davutoglu held coalition talks with the second-placed Republican People's Party (CHP) and third-placed Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) but failed to broker a deal with either.
According to the constitution, the AKP will be able to continue as a minority government until elections if a majority in parliament votes in favor of holding the early polls.
If however Erdogan uses his right to call the polls himself, a so-called "election government" will be formed until the polls, consisting of members from all four parties represented in parliament.
"Now all paths lead to the ballot box," pro-AKP columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote in the Yeni Safak daily.
It will be the first time in Turkey's political history that the largest party has failed to form a coalition and repeat elections need to be held.
The AKP prides itself on providing Turkey with almost 13 years of stable one-party rule that have been a marked contrast to the chaotic coalitions and coups that marked political life before.
- 'Ignoring the outcome' -
The political drama comes as the government wages an unprecedented "anti-terror" offensive against jihadists and Kurdish militants, although it vehemently denies this was launched in the hope of providing a boost at the ballot box.
The elections should be held 90 days after they are called, meaning that Sunday, November 22 would be a possibility were Erdogan to call the polls shortly after the expiration of the August 23 deadline.
This would mean that the polls could be held in the wake of Turkey hosting the G20 leaders' summit in Antalya from November 15-16.
Confusing matters further, the election commission ruled Tuesday that this period should be shortened if necessary, meaning polls could be held as early as October.
AKP deputy chairman and chief spokesman Besir Atalay announced after a meeting of its executive committee it would hold a general congress on September 12, in possible preparation for the early polls.
Some analysts have suggested Erdogan all along wanted to see a re-run of the election so the AKP could regain an overall majority and realize his dream of creating a presidential system in Turkey.
Pro-government newspapers have buzzed with speculation that the party would improve on its June 7 vote share of just under 41 percent in new polls, although this is far from certain.
The president, who dominated Turkey as premier from 2003-2014 and now as head of state, had infuriated opponents on Friday when he insinuated that the presidential system was already "de-facto" in place.
"Whether you agree or not, Turkey's regime has changed," Erdogan said.
Murat Yetkin, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet Daily News, said Erdogan had used every possible means in order to extend the AKP's time in power in defiance of the election result.
"Nobody expected the seizure of an entire election by simply ignoring the outcome," he wrote.
The political uncertainty, coupled with a decision by the central bank to freeze interest rates put further pressure on the Turkish lira which has lost 24.3 percent in value against the dollar since the start of the year.
The lira lost 1.31 percent in value to hit a historic low in value of 2.906 to the dollar, the first time it has broken through the psychologically important 2.9 barrier.
Source: Agence France Presse
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