ANKARA
The Justice and Development (AK) Party is ready to do everything to form a coalition government, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday.
"We are ready to do all we can to establish a coalition government. We have never threatened with early elections to force other parties into a coalition," the premier said during a live interview, which aired Wednesday on Haberturk and Show TV networks.
In the June 7 general election, the AK Party received 41 percent of the votes and the highest number of seats.
As none of the four parties that passed the 10 percent electoral threshold – the AK Party, the Republican People's Party (CHP); the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) - had the majority necessary to form a single-party government, they are forced to negotiate to form some type of coalition following the opening of parliament with the ceremonial oath-taking by MPs later this month.
Davutoglu said it was the natural thing for the AK Party to assume the leadership position and establish a government having received the highest number of votes.
"Let's say this did not happen. In that case, we would be the best opposition party there is, but right now this is not an option," he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to ask the AK Party to form a government once the official results are announced. This has yet to happen.
Turkey's constitution stipulates that a new government must be formed within 45 days following the president's demand.
If no government is formed, the country will have to hold early parliamentary elections.
