Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu resigned in a procedural move after his party lost its majority in parliamentary elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accepted Davutoglu’s gesture but asked him to stay in the post until a new government was formed. Erdogan is now expected to give Davutoglu the difficult task of forming a new coalition government, BBC reported.
The two men met on Tuesday in the capital, Ankara, to discuss the future of the government after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its majority in parliament for the first time in 13 years.
It secured 41 percent, a sharp drop from 2011, and is now likely to try to form a coalition, although no party has yet indicated it is willing to join forces with the AKP.
The move is a political formality, and Davutoglu’s future remains unclear. After the official final result is declared, the AKP will have 45 days to form a new government.
Opposition parties are likely to demand limits on president’s role. If no deal is reached on a coalition, a minority government and early elections loom.
Erdogan had been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic, but fell short.
The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) upset his ambitions by crossing the 10 percent threshold, securing seats in parliament for the first time.
