AFP, Ankara :
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government, two weeks after an election in which the ruling party regained the overall majority it had lost five months ago.
Erdogan formally tasked Justice and Development Party (AKP) chief Davutoglu with forming the government in talks at the presidential palace in Ankara, the presidency said in a short statement on its website.
The AKP’s resounding victory in a November 1 general election gave the party a renewed mandate to govern without any coalition partners.
Davutoglu is expected to present a list of ministers for Erdogan’s approval either on Wednesday or Thursday, with the new cabinet likely to be composed mainly of Erdogan loyalists.
Earlier Tuesday, lawmakers were sworn into office as parliament convened for the first time since the election.
Turkey’s oldest lawmaker, 77-year-old opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) member Deniz Baykal, presided over the session.
With Erdogan looking on, Baykal called for reconciliation in the majority Muslim country, which has been plagued by violence over the past few months, leaving many sections of society — minority Kurds, Islamists, secular Turks — at odds.
Wearing the traditional tailcoat and white bowtie of the Turkish speaker, he also invited the lawmakers to swear “loyalty to the secular and democratic Turkish republic.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government, two weeks after an election in which the ruling party regained the overall majority it had lost five months ago.
Erdogan formally tasked Justice and Development Party (AKP) chief Davutoglu with forming the government in talks at the presidential palace in Ankara, the presidency said in a short statement on its website.
The AKP’s resounding victory in a November 1 general election gave the party a renewed mandate to govern without any coalition partners.
Davutoglu is expected to present a list of ministers for Erdogan’s approval either on Wednesday or Thursday, with the new cabinet likely to be composed mainly of Erdogan loyalists.
Earlier Tuesday, lawmakers were sworn into office as parliament convened for the first time since the election.
Turkey’s oldest lawmaker, 77-year-old opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) member Deniz Baykal, presided over the session.
With Erdogan looking on, Baykal called for reconciliation in the majority Muslim country, which has been plagued by violence over the past few months, leaving many sections of society — minority Kurds, Islamists, secular Turks — at odds.
Wearing the traditional tailcoat and white bowtie of the Turkish speaker, he also invited the lawmakers to swear “loyalty to the secular and democratic Turkish republic.”
