President Erdogan’s statement on Monday didn’t say when the new elections would be held, but he has previously said they would probably be on 1 November

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office says the Turkish leader has called for a new election one day after a deadline passed for forming a new government following a June election.

A presidential statement on Monday didn’t say when the new elections would be held, but Erdogan has previously said they were likely to take place on 1 November.

Erdogan was expected to re-appoint the prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, to form an interim government during a meeting on Tuesday.

The Islamic-rooted ruling party, which Erdogan founded, lost its parliamentary majority in June for the first time since 2002. Davutoglu’s efforts to form a coalition alliance failed last week, setting the stage for Erdogan to declare repeat elections he is reported to have favored all along.

Erdogan is thought to have pressed for new elections to give the ruling party the chance to win back its majority and rule alone.



Turkey faces new elections as it is grappling with a sharp increase in violence between security forces and Kurdish rebels and is more deeply involved in the US-led campaign against Islamic State group extremists. The Turkish lira has dropped to record lows against the dollar amid the political uncertainty.

More than 100 people – mostly soldiers and police – have been killed since July in renewed conflict between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party, or PKK, and the security forces, which has wrecked a two-and-a-half-year-old peace process with the Kurds.

On Monday, PKK militants detonated a bomb on a road near Semdinli town as a military vehicle was passing, killing two soldiers and injuring three others. Semdinli is near Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Iran.

Two opposition parties have already declared they will not participate in the interim government, leaving Davutoglu with little choice but to form a government made up of independent figures and politicians from the pro-Kurdish party, who would be taking government posts for the first time in Turkish history.