1st LD: Turkish president gives mandate to AKP leader to form gov't

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday gave mandate to ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government.

"I plan to hold the first round of talks next week, before Eid al-Fitr," Davutoglu told his party members on Thursday hours before he was commisioned by the president.

According to the constitution, the president gives the mandate to the party that won the most seats in the election, which is the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with 258 seats, which is not enough majority to form a single government.

Political parties now have 45 days to form a government before the president has the right to take Turkey to a fresh election in failure of the talks.

Davutoglu will meet separately with leaders of party leaders according to the majority of the number of seats that their parties have secured at the parliament.

The second party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) has 132 seats, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) both has 80 lawmakers.

"We will not hide anything from the public, we will hold meetings transparently and be constructive," Davutoglu also said.

He dismissed claims that the president deliberately delayed the mandate in a bid to call for fresh elections.

According to the procedure, the president should wait election of parliament speaker and the selection of the members of the presiding board of the parliament before giving mandate.

If political parties fail to form a government and the president calls for a fresh election, it would likely be held on Nov. 22, some 90 days after the provision of the mandate to form a government. Endit