ANKARA
Turkey needs a government that can take important decisions and implement them strongly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
"A coalition government should be formed with this understanding," Erdogan said at an iftar event organized by the Turkish Manufacturers' and Businessmen's Association (TUMSIAD) in capital Ankara.
"If political parties bicker with each other and other authorities then it harms Turkey instead of giving it benefits," he said.
"I sincerely wish and wait to see the formation of a new government as soon as possible," he added.
Erdogan also criticized the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leader for comments made about the attacks that took place in two of Turkey’s eastern provinces.
On Saturday, a group of militants attacked three trucks in eastern province of Agri. On the same day, a group of municipal workers were attacked by militants in Gole district of northeastern province of Ardahan.
"Have you heard him [HDP leader] saying 'what are you doing?'," he asked.
About HDP’s denial that it had no “organic” (or natural) links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Erdogan said: "They have inorganic relations, not organic," he added.
Earlier on Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu concluded his meeting with Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as part of efforts to form a new government in the country.
Davutoglu is next scheduled to meet the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, on Tuesday, and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, on Wednesday as part of the first round of negotiations to form a government partnership.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had asked Davutoglu to form a new government on July 9.
Davutoglu now has 41 days left to form a government around the AK Party, which gained the largest share of parliamentary seats (258) in the June 7 general election.
Although the party came in first, it did not win enough seats (276 seats) to form a majority government, so it must attempt to forge a coalition with one of three other parliamentary parties - the second place CHP (132 seats), the MHP (80 seats) or the pro-Kurdish HDP (80 seats) . Either the left-leaning CHP or the nationalist MHP are likely to be Davutoglu's preferred partners.
If he is unable to form a coalition, tradition dictates the president should offer the second place party the chance to create an administration within another 45-day period. Should this also fail to provide Turkey with a governing coalition, the president must call a fresh election and appoint a prime minister within five days to form an interim government consisting of representatives from all four parties.
