Turkey’s politics face struggling interim rule — News Analysis

Erdogan is expected to meet the speaker of parliament on Monday to prepare for the next stages, including the formation of a temporary government to carry the country over until the election.

This is the first time a president has called snap polls since Turkey became a republic in 1923, a move that could stoke further political turmoil at a sensitive time.

Coalition talks with the nationalist MHP and main opposition CHP failed.

Erdogan wants the AKP to win back an overall majority and govern alone.

In the event of a decision to hold new elections under Article 116, the council of ministers is to resign and the president will appoint a prime minister to form a provisional council of ministers.

“I did whatever the constitution dictates”.

The political parties in Parliament have opposing stances on social and economic issues, and so forming a coalition government would have been hard.

Dozens of people have been killed in renewed clashes between Turkey’s military and rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Turkish government, right after the election, has declared war against terrorism which comprehends the PKK and Islamic State (IS).

Commentators have suggested that Erdoğan’s recent abandonment of the peace process and violent offensive against the separatists (although as usual there is disagreement about who broke the ceasefire first) is created to bolster his national security credentials and scare voters away from the HDP.

“With 258 seats, the AKP was 18 seats short of a single-party government”.

Even the AKP’s own pollster shows little change from the June results: at most the AKP up a couple of points, not enough to give it a majority, unless either the MHP or HDP falls below the 10% threshold. “It is very obvious that the terrorism is going to continue at the same pace”.

“We expect these unchartered waters to be much stormier, ” he said.

Analysts argue the snap elections have been called to allow Turks to “correct the mistake” made in the June elections.

“We’re getting poorer by the day”, said 44-year-old elementary school teacher Nevin, who was shopping for groceries at a supermarket in central Ankara.

Bayrakci expressed his optimism for the future, saying that Turkey’s state tradition is deep-rooted and the country wouldn’t be dragged towards an adventure.

If no government is formed by August 23, Mr Davutoglu must dissolve his Cabinet, and an “election government” composed of all parties in Parliament would carry the country towards the vote.

The bank declined to raise interest rates at its monthly policy meeting on Tuesday, in what investors saw as acquiescence to political pressure from Erdogan.