ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Tuesday called on reluctant opposition parties to join an interim government ahead of new elections, but two refused and the third, a pro-Kurdish party, said it doubted he was serious.
Davutoglu was earlier appointed by President Tayyip Erdogan to form a temporary power-sharing Cabinet and lead Turkey into an election on Nov. 1, after two months of coalition talks failed to produce a working government.
The prime minister has five days to form the interim Cabinet and is obliged by the constitution to offer ministerial posts to members of the opposition. Should they decline, “independent” candidates from outside parliament can fill the posts.
Within hours, two opposition parties — the secularist CHP and the nationalist MHP — reiterated that they would not take part, raising the prospect of a Cabinet dominated by Davutoglu’s AK Party and propped up by outsiders who could include loyal bureaucrats and ex-AKP members.
The leader of the third opposition party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), said his deputies were ready to play a role but he would not be surprised if Davutoglu tried to exclude them.
“We cannot run the country by closing doors on each other. I am calling on opposition parties to take on this responsibility together through challenging times for our nation,” Davutoglu told a news conference after being asked to form the government.
The uncertainty has knocked economic confidence in Turkey, unnerving investors already concerned about rising violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast and the threat of blowback after the NATO member last month opened its bases for US coalition air strikes on Islamic State militants in Syria.
Forming interim govt a tall order for Davutoglu
-
{{#bullets}}
- {{value}} {{/bullets}}