Crescent International
The Turkish cabinet led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu resigned today and was then asked by President Recep Tayip Erdogan to continue in their posts until a new cabinet is formed and sworn in by the newly elected parliament. Turkey is heading for political uncertainty because of the erratic policies of Erdogan. People are no longer happy with his performance as was evident from the June 7 parliamentary elections.
Istanbul,
Tuesday June 09, 2015, 17:29 DST
Following the electoral humiliation of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party in parliamentary elections on June 7, the government tendered its resignation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today. The AKP failed to secure a majority in parliament. While gaining the most number of seats—258—in the 550-seat parliament, it is considered a loss because in the outgoing assembly, the AKP had 327 seats. Erdogan was hoping to increase this number to 330, or two-thirds majority, to change the constitution to transfer executive powers to the office of the president.
When the Turkish cabinet led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu presented its resignation letters, Erdogan accepted it, as per a statement issued by the office of the president earlier today. Erdogan then asked the cabinet to remain in their posts until a new cabinet is formed and sworn in 45 days. Not surprisingly, Erdogan “thanked the cabinet for its services so far [and] asked it to remain in charge until a new government is formed,” the presidential statement said.
Members of the new parliament will be sworn in on June 25. Following that, they have 45 days to agree on a new cabinet. A day after the AKP’s drubbing, a chastened Erdogan announced no single party could form the government on its own. He also called on other parties to work with the AKP for the sake of Turkey. Three other parties were able to make it to parliament following the June 7 vote. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) a left-leaning secular party, secured 125 seats with a popular vote of 25%; the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) each won 80 seats although their popular vote was 15.29% and 13.12% respectively.
Neither party has indicated whether they are willing to work with the AKP to form a coalition. If the parties fail to form a coalition government and the AKP is unable to form a minority government, Erdogan can call fresh elections. The electorate turned against the AKP because of Erdogan’s arrogance and extravagant lifestyle. He built himself a palace with more than 1100 bedrooms at a price of $1 billion while ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet.
Corruption scandals as well as Erdogan’s authoritarianism also put many of AKP’s traditional supporters off. And then there is massive failure of Turkish policy in Syria. Far from being a quick victory to over the government of President Bashar al Asad, the war has dragged on for more than four years. Not everyone in Turkey is happy with this turn of events. Besides, there have been numerous reports that the Turkish military and intelligence agency MIT has been helping the terrorist groups operating in Syria.
Turkey has also acted as a transit point for these terrorists coming from all over the world. While Turkey has facilitated these mass murderers and organ eaters, they are bound to turn on their benefactors at some stage. This has caused great unease among ordinary people in Turkey. The result has been the loss of political support for the AKP and unsettled conditions ahead for Turkey.
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