Turkey announces Nov. 1 general election

26/08/2015| IslamWeb

A fresh general election in Turkey will be held on Nov. 1, nearly five months after an inconclusive poll that saw no party win an overall majority.

The announcement came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called a snap general election on Monday.

Sadi Guven, president of the Supreme Election Board, on Tuesday said the election date was decided to take the approaching winter into account, particularly in eastern and southeastern Turkey.

Since the June election, which saw the Justice and Development (AK) Party lose its majority and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) enter parliament for the first time, Turkey has faced a renewed Kurdish insurgency, threats from Daesh and a plummeting Turkish lira.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu failed to form a coalition government and last week the electoral authority prepared a draft election calendar for the four parliamentary parties to consider.
Guven said a finalized version of the calendar would be ready by Thursday.

The Supreme Election Board has also issued a decision requiring those who wish to stand in the November 1 election to resign from their posts by August 31. They include members of the judiciary, military personnel, public servants and political party members, among other groups.

Davutoglu now has the task of forming a provisional administration in the run-up to the election.

In accordance with the list prepared by parliament and sent to Davutoglu, the AK Party will be granted 11 ministries, while the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will have five, prime ministry sources said.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) will have three ministries each. Parties can choose whether or not to participate in the interim cabinet.

Davutoglu is going to send out invitations to the MPs of the relevant parties as of Wednesday morning, prime ministry sources said.

The decision to form a caretaker government has also been announced in the official gazette.

The current AK Party cabinet will continue to work until the formation of the interim government, it said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before a meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015.

AA