Roundup: Turkey set to go for early elections in Autumn amid violence

Turkey's election board has proposed November 1 as the tentative date for snap elections on Thursday as talks for a possible coalition government formally collapsed earlier this week.

The Supreme Election Board (YSK) submitted the offer to the representatives of all four major political parties in the Parliament, signaling that it may finalize the work within two months.

Akif Hamzacebi, the lawmaker from the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) said whatever the date is, the CHP is ready for snap polls.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu floated the possible dates for election as October 25, November 1 and November 8.

The exact date will be determined by the YSK after negotiations with the political parties.

The snap polls came to Turkey's agenda after Davutoglu who is also the chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) failed to form a partnership with an opposition parties to lead the next government.

The AKP lost its parliamentary majority in June parliamentary elections for the first time in 13 years and no other political party secured enough seats to form a single-party government.

The 45-day deadline on the formation of a new government is set to expire on August 23 and the hope for establishing a coalition government has already faded away.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled that he will not extend the deadline.

On Thursday, Davutoglu again called on the leaders of the opposition parties to work on a coalition government ahead of the deadline.

Yet he also added that there is no longer hope that a long-term government could be forged.

ANALYSTS DOWNBEAT ON EXPECTATIONS

Turkish analysts believe the political map will not likely change even after fresh elections.

"We ought not have any expectations that early elections will change, in any deep-rooted ways, the current political tableau," Hasan Kanbolat, the director of Ankara Policy Center, said.

He warned that level of polarization in the country is very dangerous for Turkey's future, adding to that a power vacuum has laid the groundwork for a serious political and economic crisis.

"As violence, in particular in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated, conflict-ridden southeast regions has surged, the power vacuum in Ankara has the potential to worsen the security situation as a whole in the country," Lale Kemal, a security and defense expert, predicted.

In the last two months, the clashes between the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkish security forces have escalated.

Some 60 PKK militants and 55 members of the Turkish security services were killed in the conflict within Turkey.

It was also estimated that close to 400 militants were killed in air campaign by Turkish warplanes, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency.

On the other hand, Turkish economy has also displayed signs of trouble with local currency lira plunging to a new low against the dollar on Thursday.

The lira briefly hit three to one dollar for the first time before bouncing back to 2.97. It lost more than 20 percent this year. The fall was precipitated amid fears of heightened political uncertainty and spike in the violence.

OPPOSITION BLAMES PRESIDENT

Turkey's opposition political parties have all accused President Erdogan, former leader of the AKP who still maintains big influence in the party, of forcing the country into another election with the hope that the AKP will regain its strength.

Engin Altay, the parliamentary group deputy chairman for the opposition CHP, said the president is playing gamble on the future of Turkey.

"It is a clear usurpation of power, abuse of the authority and violation of the constitution (by the president)," he said, criticizing Erdogan's unwillingness to give mandate to form the government to the second major part before the deadline.

Turkey's decades-old political traditions require the president to hand over the task of forming government to the second major party leader when the leading party fails to do so.

However, the president made it clear he won't do that.

In last elections, the AKP won 258 seats, short of required 276 in 550-seat Parliament. The polls indicate the support for political parties have not changed much, suggesting another deadlock even after the elections.

However, the polling company Andy-Ar's survey indicated the AKP's support has risen to 42.8 percent.

Considering the margin of error and big chunk of undecided voters that is estimated to be around 18 percent by pollster, the picture does not seem to have changed much. Enditem