Turkey PM to begin coalition talks next week

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday that he would begin coalition talks next week, over a month after legislative elections where his ruling party lost its overall majority for the first time since coming to power.

Turkey has been plunged into political uncertainty for the first time since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, with the country either facing a coalition government or snap new elections.

The AKP has 258 seats in the new parliament, the Republican People's Party (CHP) 132, and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) hold 80 apiece.

Davutoglu announced he would hold talks with the CHP on Monday, followed by the MHP on Tuesday.

He made clear that the CHP and MHP were the most viable coalition partners, after the HDP ruled out making a coalition with the AKP. However he will still meet the HDP on Wednesday.

"We are at an equal distance from the MHP and CHP. We have carried out our consultations and concluded that there might be a coalition with either the MHP and CHP," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara before leaving on a trip to Bosnia.

"We will meet with all parties but we will try to achieve our goal by focusing on talks with these two parties."

Davutoglu was on Thursday formally asked by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to form the new government, after a gap of over one month since the June 7 elections which was loudly protested by the opposition.

The premier now has 45 days in which to form a government, after which time Erdogan can call early elections.

Some commentators believe that snap polls are the preferred scenario of some within the AKP, who believe they could achieve a better result and an overall majority the second time round.

But Davutoglu said he believed a "very strong" coalition could be formed with the CHP or MHP.