ANKARA
Turkey's second largest parliamentary group, the Republican People's Party (CHP), is ready to take on the challenge of forming a government if given a mandate, sources within the party have said.
CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is planning to form a minority government should President Recep Tayyip Erdogan give him the mandate before the 45-day deadline to form a government expires on Sunday, party members - on condition of anonymity - told Anadolu Agency Thursday.
Once tasked, Kilicdaroglu would meet the leaders of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to discuss this option, with an early general election scheduled within seven to eight months, the sources said, adding that the CHP expected the mandate "without delay".
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu returned the mandate to form a government to Erdogan on Tuesday, following the failure of month-long coalition talks between the Justice and Development (AK) Party, the CHP and the MHP on Monday.
The parties had been negotiating for a coalition agreement after no single party won a majority in Turkey’s June 7 election.
To receive a vote of confidence, Kilicdaroglu would seek that MP's vote individually and not along party lines, the same sources said, adding that talks with other parties were ongoing on an unofficial basis regarding such a scenario.
CHP deputy chairman Mehmet Bekaroglu said Thursday that Erdogan must request Kilicdaroglu to form a government in line with his "constitutional duty", and also because "tradition dictates it so".
"Erdogan is not giving this mandate saying 'We have no time to waste with those who do not even know the address of Bestepe [Presidential Palace]'. This is unacceptable," he said.
Erdogan's remarks came Wednesday as he addressed a large group of mukhtars -- locally elected heads of Turkish villages and neighborhoods -- at the Presidential Palace in the capital Ankara.
Bekaroglu said: "If Kilicdaroglu is given the mandate, he could form a minority government consisting of two or three parties; or it could just be the CHP with the support of other two parties."
"You would not expect such a government to make huge reforms, but maybe it could solve some urgent issues, and move the country to an [early] election. Is this possible? We just need to try and see," he said.
According to Turkey’s constitution, only the president or parliament can decide to hold a new election, which could be as early as Nov. 1, the tentative date set by the Supreme Election Board earlier on Thursday.
If Erdogan calls a snap election by the end of the deadline on Sunday, Davutoglu must form a caretaker government within five days, according to Article 114 of the Constitution.
