TURKEY-POLITICS Turkish opposition parties should form government after election - CHP leader

Record ID: 151260

  • Title: TURKEY-POLITICS Turkish opposition parties should form government after election - CHP leader
  • Date: 15th June 2015
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (JUNE 15, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) MAIN OPPOSITION REPUBLICAN PEOPLE'S PARTY (CHP) LEADER, KEMAL KILICDAROGLU, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CHP OFFICIALS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) CHP LEADER, KEMAL KILICDAROGLU, SAYING: "The principal duty to form a government falls to the 60 percent (opposition) block. If we want to respect the will of people,
  • Embargoed: 30th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA135PNUD111FY1KU4IVWX4JXVP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Opposition parties should form Turkey's next government after the ruling AK Party failed to secure a majority, the head of the main opposition said on Monday (June 15).
    President Tayyip Erdogan has said he plans to grant the mandate to form a government to the AKP after it won 40.9 percent of the June 7 vote.
    The party lost votes to both pro-Kurdish and nationalist opposition parties and would need to find a junior partner to form a government with a parliamentary majority.
    "The principal duty to form a government falls to the 60 percent (opposition) block," Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu told a news conference.
    Kilicdaroglu said it was "unacceptable" for Erdogan to be a primary political actor while coalition talks were underway and he must stay within the boundaries set by the constitution.
    "The post of presidency has a privilege. He should seldom speak, but must do so wisely. Because 77 million people listen to him carefully. So the president must withdraw to his boundaries. This is one of our priorities," he said.
    As president, Erdogan is supposed to stay above party politics. However, his frequent speeches at rallies ahead of the June 7 polls drew criticism that he was stumping for the AKP he founded.
    Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the AKP will exhaust all options to form a government before considering an early election. Erdogan said at the weekend a snap election would be "inevitable" if the AKP and opposition fail to form a government within a 45-day constitutional limit.
    The right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has been seen as a strong potential partner, but its supporters are fiercely opposed to a peace process with Kurdish militants which Erdogan and Davutoglu have said will remain a priority.
    An opposition coalition also seems unlikely, given the ideological differences between the nationalists, the leftist Kurds and the secular CHP.
    The latest survey from Turkish pollster MAK showed on Monday that the AKP would regain its parliamentary majority with 44 percent support if a snap election were to be held.
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