The formation of a coalition government in Turkey following last month's parliamentary elections will be difficult, so the country is most likely headed for early elections, according to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the second-largest faction in parliament. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Kilicdaroglu assessed the tough political equation produced by the June 7 polling results and explained his party’s position on the upcoming coalition talks.
The elections saw the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lose its majority after almost 13 years in power. The three opposition parties had pledged to hold the AKP accountable in light of corruption allegations and curb President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s clout. Riven with disagreements, however, they have thus far failed to coalesce around a joint position, and in one example, allowing the AKP to grab the speaker’s office with the selection of Ismet Yilmaz July 1. In particular, the far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) has developed a deeply hostile attitude toward the Kurdish-dominated Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Kilicdaroglu said the CHP favors the continuation of the faltering Kurdish settlement process, but he stressed that it should advance in a transparent manner. He also voiced concerns about Turkey’s economic situation and the growing number of Syrian refugees in the country, stressing that a second generation of Syrians was emerging in the country, with 90,000 Syrian babies born on Turkish soil thus far.
The text of the interview follows:
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