Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu resigns after election

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, resigned on Tuesday following Sunday's parliamentary election but is to remain until a new government is formed, according to a statement from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office.

The ruling Justice and Development, or AK Party (AKP), lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since it swept to power in 2002. Having got 40.9 per cent of the vote, it faces the option of forming a coalition government or trying to rule as a minority government.

“Mr President accepted the resignation of the cabinet that was presented by Mr Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,” Erdogan’s office said. “Mr President, who thanked the cabinet for its services, asked the cabinet to remain in charge until a new government is formed.”

The three opposition parties in parliament have shown little enthusiasm for joining the AKP in coalition.

The right-wing Nationalist Movement party has rejected the possibility. Its leader Devlet Bahceli suggested the AK Party and pro-Kurdish and leftist Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) or the AKP, HDP and second-placed Republican People’s party should try to form a coalition. – (Guardian service)