AK Party open to coalition talks with all parties: PM Davutoğlu


Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Sunday reiterated that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is open to negotiations to form a coalition government with other political parties in the Turkish parliament.Davutoğlu said that after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan officially gives him the mandate to form a government, he will personally meet with the other party's leaders for negotiations. According to the official results, AK Party received the most votes in its fourth consecutive general election on June 7 to claim 258 seats in Parliament, 18 short of a simple majority.The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has 132 seats, followed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) each with 80.Although the AK party received 40.66 percent of the vote, the support it gained from voters was not sufficient for the party to reach the majority needed to form a government on its own, which has led it to seek a coalition partner. President Erdoğan is expected to give the mandate to form a government to Prime Minister Davutoğlu on June 24.