Turkey’s election board proposes November 1 as date for new elections

Turkey’s election board proposes November 1 as date for new elections 

Reuters – Turkey’s High Election Board has proposed November 1 as a date for possible snap parliamentary elections, ruling AK Party officials said on Thursday, paving the way for a break in a political deadlock after the collapse of coalition talks.

 Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu formally ended attempts to find a junior coalition partner on Tuesday, more than two months after the last vote, handing the mandate back to President Tayyip Erdogan and making a fresh election almost inevitable.

 “Parties put forward their own views on the proposed date and after that an agreement will be sought. Nov. 1 and Nov. 22 are suitable for us,” one senior official from Davutoglu’s AK Party told Reuters.

The political uncertainty, coupled with a surge in militant conflict, has shattered investor confidence and sent the Turkish lira early on Thursday to a record low of 3.0 against the dollar – a plunge of some 22 percent so far this year.

 Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey was heading rapidly towards a new election and only the “will of the people” can resolve the political impasse.

 The AK Party, which Erdogan founded, in June suffered its biggest election setback since coming to power in 2002, failing to win a single-party majority for the first time.