Davutoğlu Officially Withdraws from Efforts to Form Coalition Government in Turkey

Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Prime Minister of Turkey, officially withdrew from efforts to form a coalition government on Tuesday evening after weeks of unsuccessful attempts to gain the support of an opposition party. He returned the mandate for forming a government to the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the mandate given to Davutoğlu, a 45-day deadline was set for forming a coalition government, but with less than a week remaining, the leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) officially abandoned efforts to create a new government. According to Reuters, the Turkish presidential office confirmed that Davutoğlu returned the mandate during a meeting with Erdoğan on August 18. The French news agency reported that the Prime Minister stated in his meeting with Erdoğan that "despite all efforts, he was unable to form a cabinet that could gain the necessary vote of confidence from parliament." The Islamist Justice and Development Party, which has held power for the past 13 years with a parliamentary majority, failed to secure the necessary majority in the latest parliamentary elections to form a government and subsequently entered negotiations with other opposition parties for a coalition government. However, on Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced that his discussions with the Nationalist Movement Party also ended in failure, and he could not secure the right-wing party's agreement to join the coalition government. Previously, Davutoğlu had also held talks with the Republican People's Party aimed at forming a coalition government, but attempts to gain this party's agreement were also fruitless. This is the first time in Turkey's history that the largest party in the country has failed to form a coalition cabinet, raising the possibility of new elections. Currently, Erdoğan is likely to ask the Republican People's Party, the second-largest party in the country, to form a coalition cabinet. However, if this party also fails to form a government within five days, by September 23, Erdoğan will announce the dissolution of Davutoğlu's interim government and order early elections. According to the constitution, such early elections must be held 90 days after the end of the 45-day deadline for forming a government, meaning elections would be scheduled for November 22. This timing coincides with Turkey hosting the G20 summit in Antalya on November 16 and 17. Meanwhile, the Turkish Electoral Commission voted on Tuesday to reduce the three-month deadline for elections, meaning early elections are likely to be held in October. Furthermore, according to the Turkish constitution, until early elections are held, a cabinet involving all parties in the current parliament will manage Turkey and prepare for parliamentary elections this fall. However, this is somewhat challenging as forming such a temporary government requires cooperation from four parliamentary parties, some of which, like the Nationalist Movement Party and the People's Democratic Party, have ideological differences. Reuters also noted that the Turkish parliament could vote to extend the current government's term until elections are held, although the Nationalist Movement Party has already emphasized that it will not support such a plan. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Basir Atalay, a spokesperson for the Justice and Development Party, stated that the party will hold a congress on September 12, a meeting that could be crucial for determining the party's strategies ahead of early elections.