Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called for the formation of a new coalition government as soon as possible, ending almost four days of unusual silence after legislative polls seen as a blow to his authority.
“Everyone should put their egos aside and a government must be formed as soon as possible, within the constitutional process,” Erdogan said in his first public comments since the ruling party he co-founded lost its majority in Sunday’s vote.
Erdogan insisted that the election result “certainly does not mean Turkey will remain without a government.” He said he hoped political parties will “prefer solution rather than crisis.” “We cannot leave Turkey without a government. Those who are condemned to their egos will neither be able to give account to history, nor to our people.”
Although the ruling Justice and Development Party won the biggest share of the vote in the elections, it lost its majority for the first time since it came to power since 2002. Commentators are now expecting a coalition although Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that snap elections were not ruled out should the talks fail.