ANKARA: Turkey’s ruling party has been left with few options for a new government after it was stripped of its parliamentary majority and opposition parties ruled out joining it in a coalition pact.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party won around 41 percent of the votes in Sunday’s election and was projected to take 258 seats — 18 below the minimum required to rule alone.
The result was a stunning rebuke to Erdogan’s ambitions to expand his powers in a new presidential system.
All three opposition parties have spoken against a coalition with the AKP after Erdogan led a fierce and confrontational campaign in favor of the party, brushing aside his constitutional neutrality.
Turkey has 45 days in which to form a new government after final official results are confirmed.