Turkey's AKP faces challenge to form government
 Turkey's AK party faces a challenge to form a government after losing its majority at a general election for the first time in 13 years. It secured 41%, a sharp drop from 2011, when it won nearly half of the vote. Under Turkey's proportional representation system, this means the AKP will need to form a coalition or face entering a minority government. The pro-Kurdish HDP crossed the 10% threshold, securing seats in parliament for the first time. There were jubilant scenes as the party's supporters took to the streets chanting "we are the HDP, we are going to the parliament". "It is a carnival night," 47-year-old Huseyin Durmaz told AFP. "We no longer trust the AKP." HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas ruled out entering into a coalition with the AKP, pointing out that the election results had put an end to discussions about a presidential system. The result is a blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plans to boost his office's powers. He first came to power as prime minister in 2003 and had been seeking a two-thirds majority to turn Turkey into a presidential republic. "The discussion of executive presidency and dictatorship have come to an end in Turkey with these elections," Mr Demirtas told a news conference in Istanbul. |
