ANKARA
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has conducted an internal survey to gauge the opinion of its party members about a possible coalition set up with the Justice and Development (AK) Party.
Adnan Keskin, CHP Ankara provincial head, told the Anadolu Agency that the party grassroots was in favor of forming a government. "The CHP grassroots is in favor of establishing a government without making concessions on democracy and freedom. This is the general view we get from our surveys and meetings," he said.
The results of the survey would be included in an internal party report, which would be then presented to the CHP's senior management, Keskin added.
The move comes a month after the June 7 elections in Turkey, which resulted in no single party gaining absolute majority in the parliament.
Some of the questions in the survey included: “What path should CHP follow in the coalition talks?” and "Do you want the CHP to participate in a coalition with AK Party?".
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to ask the AK Party, which gained the most seats in the elections, to form the next Turkish government.
AK Party led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu came in first in the fourth consecutive general elections to secure the largest number of votes -- 41 percent -- and to claim 258 seats in the Grand National Assembly, 18 short of a simple majority.
The second-placed CHP saw 132 deputies elected while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) both won 80 seats.
If Davutoglu is unable to form a coalition with any of the other three parties, tradition dictates the president should offer the second-placed party the chance to create an administration.
If neither the AK Party nor the CHP can form a government within 45 days, the president must call for a fresh election and appoint a prime minister within five days to form an interim government consisting of representatives from all four parties according to their number of deputies.
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