08/26/2015, 00.00
TURKEY
Send to a friend

Ankara: interim government until November vote, including (perhaps) Kurdish party

President Erdogan has given a mandate to outgoing Prime Minister Davutoglu. The government will follow matters up until early elections. Prime Minister calls for national cohesion and help from opposition. Kurdish leader willing to participate. Analysts concerned about internal instability.

Ankara (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given a mandate to the outgoing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form an interim government to deal with day to day affairs and lead the country until early elections in November. He has five days to create a new team, called to ferry Turkey until the formation of the next Parliament and that could contain within it members of the pro-Kurdish party.

Davutoglu failed to form a new coalition based on the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which lost last June - for the first time since 2002 - its absolute majority in Parliament. As per the Constitution, the Prime Minister asked the opposition movements to join the executive transition.

However, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have already rejected a proposal to join a government dominated by the AKP. The Kurdish party HDP said it is willing in principle, although its leaders say they are not surprised at the possibility that the prime minister wants them excluded from the coalition.

Besides the hypothesis of the presence of members of the pro-Kurdish HDP is unlikely given that for more than a month the Turkish army has been waging a military offensive against Kurdish PKK fighters. Premier Davutolgu asked to avoid "initiatives that can create a sense of political crisis in the country", in a period marked by challenges and difficulties.

Analysts and international policy experts say that Turkey is entering a period of "uncertainty", both politically and economically. There is a strong risk of internal "paralysis" and "instability" in a country that is the de facto bridge between Europe and the Middle East, accused in the recent past of encouraging - or at least not hindering - the rise of the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, the Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas  has confirmed his party’s willingness to take part in the executive transition, while government propaganda continues to associate the HDP with the Kurdish separatist PKK militias.

According to some polls, the November ballot could be characterized by great uncertainty and there are high chances that no strong majority will emerge. A scenario that would contribute to increasing internal instability, and deep rifts in the country.

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Turkish troop build-up along border with Iraqi Kurdistan
10/07/2007
Local elections highlight Turkey’s contradictions
01/04/2009
Elections: Erdogan turning to Islamist extremism to win
30/03/2023 21:25
Erdogan wins elections, but his party loses votes
30/03/2009
Erdogan’s AKP loses majority; Kurdish party enters parliament
08/06/2015


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”