Turkish PM prepares for early elections to form a coalition government

Turkish Prime Minister and head of the Justice and Development Party Ahmet Davutoglu has instructed the heads of party offices in all Turkish states to prepare for early parliamentary elections, Anadolu agency has reported.

According to information obtained from sources in the Turkish Ministry presidency, Davutoglu said in telephone conversations with party office heads on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr that, “we will continue until the last minute with the negotiations to form a coalition government, but you have to be prepared as if the election is taking place at any moment.”

Davutoglu instructed the heads of the party offices not to stop working during the Eid holiday and beyond, and to continue to hold meetings with the residents of their states.

Davutoglu, who is in charge of forming a new government, has completed the first round of meetings with party heads represented in parliament in order to discuss forming a coalition government.

In a press statement, on Friday, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that: “In the event of the failure of all attempts to form a coalition government, we will resort to the will of the public opinion,” in reference to the possibility of an early election.

According to the official results of the country’s general elections, which were held on 7 June, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won 258 parliament seats out of 550 seats, while the Republican People’s Party (CHP) won 132 seats, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 80 seats, as well as 80 seats for the Democratic People’s Party (HDP).