Turkey: MHP chair receives permission to hold coalition talks with AK Party
by Daily Sabah with AA
ANKARAAug 15, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with AA
Aug 15, 2015 12:00 am
Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Saturday granted its leader authority to hold coalition talks with the Justice and Development (AK) Party.
Devlet Bahçeli will meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Monday at 2:00 PM to discuss forming a government.
The prime minister's invitation to Bahçeli came after talks with the Republican People's Party (CHP) failed on Thursday.
Davutoğlu has just over a week until a deadline on forming a coalition, after which a fresh election is likely to be called within 90 days, although the election authority can cut this by half.
Davutoğlu's AK Party had been seeking a coalition partner after no party won a simple majority in the June 7 general election, but the PM announced earlier on Thursday that no agreement to form a coalition government had been found with CHP leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Davutoğlu's request was submitted to Bahçeli in the evening hours of Thursday, prime ministry sources said.
Davutoğlu had met with Bahçeli on July 14 as part of the first round of coalition talks. Following the meeting, Davutoğlu told reporters that the MHP had opted not to take part in a coalition government.
"[Bahçeli] spoke to reiterate his stance of staying out of a coalition partnership," he said, adding that the two agreed to meet again during the second round if needed.
Bahçeli issued a written statement Monday, calling for an immediate formation of a coalition government between the AK Party and the CHP.
"These two parties should not avoid taking the big responsibility that history has put them in front of and should show their will and attention to form a government in line with national interests," Bahçeli said.
He also urged the two parties to hold coalition negotiations "without behaving reluctantly or having imaginary discussions involving infertile standoffs".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had asked Davutoğlu to form a new government on July 9, and negotiations between the AK Party and the second-placed CHP had been going on since July 13.
The MHP won 80 seats in the Parliament, and combined with the 258 seats of AK Party, the two parties could easily forge a coalition, as only 276 seats are required to establish one.
When the deadline to form a government expires on Aug. 23, either Erdoğan or the parliament may decide to hold a new election. If the president issues the decision, then polling is supposed to be held the first Sunday following a 90-day period starting from the end of the first deadline.
In the current set of circumstances, this scenario suggests renewed polling in November.
However, if the parliament makes the decision for a new election, then the Supreme Election Board can cut this 90-day period by as much as half.
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