Turkey: PM warns of divisions if AK Party is left out

ANKARA 

A post-election political equation without the Justice and Development (AK) Party will give way to ethnic and sectarian divides, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has warned.

In his address to the AK Party's provincial heads at the party headquarters in Ankara Thursday, Davutoglu said: "A [post-election] political equation excluding the AK Party, though out of the question, would lead to a scene where politics is defined by ethnic and sectarian divides".

Davutoglu highlighted the fact that the Republican People's Party (CHP) was unable to win a single seat from 37 out of 81 Turkish provinces, while the AK party won seats from every corner of the country except five provinces.

"A party [CHP] which lacks representation in 37 provinces cannot claim the right to rule the country," he said.

The premier’s remarks come as political parties in Turkey evaluate their coalition options in the aftermath of Sunday's election.

In the parliamentary polls, the AK Party received 41 percent of the votes and the highest number of seats, making it the first party to be asked by the president to form a government.

None of the four parties elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly could achieve the majority necessary to form a single-party government.

"All must acknowledge that this scene [after the elections] has proved the impossibility of Turkish politics without the AK Party," said the prime minister.

"The AK Party will continue to steer and lead Turkish politics both today and in the near and distant future," he added.

In Sunday's polls, the CHP claimed 132 seats with 24.96 percent of the votes, ranking the second after AK Party.

Davutoglu said that CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu should "think over and over" the election results in terms of the vote rate his party received and their representation power.

As for their post-election targets, Davutoglu urged party members to renew AK Party so as to build new Turkey "by taking into account the mistakes or faults -- if there are any -- after 12 to 13 years of experience [in ruling the country]”.

He spoke to reassure that his party, "as the guarantee for Turkey's stability, tranquility and peace", will take the necessary steps within the current political realities without excluding any alternatives.

"We leave all political doors open, as well as the doors of our heart to our nation," he said.

He maintained that protecting the interests of the country required the AK Party to remain the “center and backbone” of Turkish politics.

"We would not allow anyone to impose a new function or position on Turkey," he said, referring to the new direction Turkish political scene would take after the election.

The premier also ruled out any attempt behind closed doors by "those sitting in this or that capital" to shape Turkish politics over any coalition model.

The AK Party won its fourth consecutive general election, securing the largest number of votes to claim 258 seats, or 41 percent votes, in the parliament, 18 short of a simple majority, according to the unofficial results.

The CHP won 132 seats with 24.96 percent, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) claimed 80 seats with 16.29 percent votes.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) passed the 10 percent threshold with 13.12 percent votes to take 80 seats -- marking the first time it will enter the parliament as a party.

The turnout was 86.64 percent. Although the initial count has been completed, the figures still need to be verified by the Supreme Election Council, which is due to get completed by June 19.

Once the final results are announced, the deputies of the 25th Grand National Assembly will be sworn in within five days. The constitutional deadline to form a new government will expire around August 18.