ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has returned the mandate to form a government to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a statement from the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday.
Erdogan received Davutoglu at 7.30 p.m. (1630 GMT) at the Presidential Palace in capital Ankara on Tuesday.
Davutoglu, who is also the chairman of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, told Erdogan that despite his best efforts he could not find any possibility to form a coalition government. The president thanked the prime minister for his efforts, the statement added.
Erdogan is now expected to make a decision about the early election soon.
Turkey is faced with the strong possibility of being run by a caretaker government ahead of a rerun of the June 7 general election after efforts to form a coalition government proved futile.
Davutoglu was given a mandate to form a government by Erdogan on July 9 as no party won a simple majority in the June election.
The AK Party and the CHP boast the first and second largest parliamentary groups after the June 7 general election, with 258 and 131 seats, respectively. The MHP and HDP have 80 seats each.
The AK Party began talks with second-placed CHP on July 13, and after a month of negotiations, the process dissolved on Aug. 13 without a compromise.
Davutoglu then sought out the MHP but the talks proved short-lived after the leaders announced there was no agreement following a two-hour meeting.
Now, with less than five days to go before the deadline to form a coalition government expires, early parliamentary election seems a strong possibility.
According to the Turkish constitution, a caretaker government can be formed only if a government was not formed and if the president decides to hold a new general election.
The constitution says that only the president or the parliament may decide to hold a new election. If the president issues a decision, a Cabinet of ministers will be formed and the president will appoint a temporary prime minister.
In a possible caretaker government, the AK Party will have 12 ministers, the CHP will have seven ministers while each of MHP and HDP will have three ministers. The number of ministers is based on the number of MPs a party boasts.
The polling is supposed to be held in the first Sunday following a 90-day period starting from the end of the first deadline.
Any new poll is likely to take place in late November, although Turkey’s election board has the power to cut the 90-day period by half and told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that it could hold elections in 45 days if the call is made.
