Turkey PM says no possibility for forming coalition gov't

There is no possibility for forming a Turkish coalition government, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday after meeting with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli.

The MHP leader refused to form a coalition government with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and also objected to a minority AKP government for elections, Davutoglu told reporters at a press conference in Ankara.

"There seems no way to realize a coalition government," the prime minister said.

He will meet with AKP members and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and "if necessary," he will return his mandate of forming a government, he stated.

The AKP has held several rounds of talks with the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to form a coalition, but talks failed as the latter did not accept a short-term election government asking for four years of coalition.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the AKP leader and acting prime minister, was officially tasked by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 9 to start rounds of negotiations with other political parties.

The Turkish president may call for a snap election if no parties agree on a workable coalition deal within a period of 45 days which will end on Aug. 23.

During the June 7 national elections, no single party received the majority of seats in the parliament to form a single-party government, which made the ruling AKP unable to govern alone for the first time since it came to power in 2002. Endit