Turkey’s Davutoglu says president likely to give mandate to form government on

Prime Minister Davutoglu said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might ask him today to form the new government, as the Presiding Committee of the Turkish parliament was already established.

Davutoglu will meet separately with leaders of other parties according to the majority of the number of seats that their parties have secured at parliament. Erdogan, who founded the AKP, has sparked criticism for waiting more than a month after the polls to give Davutoglu the mandate. Under parliamentary procedure, formal coalition talks can not begin until he receives the mandate, at which point he has 45 days to form a new government or face the prospect of another election.

Erdogan mandated Justice and Development Party (AKP) chief Davutoglu to form the new government in talks at his presidential palace in Ankara, the presidency said in a short statement on its website.

While the nationalists are closer to the AKP ideologically, an alliance would likely scupper a peace process with Turkey’s Kurdish minority, something Erdogan sees as part of his legacy. Another possibility is to form a grand coalition with the leftist Republican People’s Party (CHP), though that could prove problematic for AKP’s devout Muslim supporters.

MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said on Thursday his party would do “whatever it takes” to avoid political instability, in an apparent sign of readiness to negotiate.

He laid down a marker for the coalition talks, saying Erdogan’s role was not up for debate.