Turkish PM Davutoglu resigns after losing parliamentary election

He will remain in his post until a new government is formed, a process that could take weeks

ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu resigned on Tuesday in a procedural move after a parliamentary election, but will remain in his post until a new government is formed, President Tayyip Erdogan's office said in a statement.

Davutoglu's ruling AK Party lost its majority in Sunday's vote, forcing it to either form a coalition government with an opposition party, a process that could take weeks, or try to go it alone in a minority government.

Erdogan is expected to officially ask Davutoglu to form the new government once the final results are published by electoral authorities, which may not be until next week.

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The party lost its parliamentary majority in Sunday’s legislative elections, dealing a severe blow to strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition to expand his powers.

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate during celebrations for election results in Diyarbakir on June 8, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

It won the biggest portion of the vote in the closely-fought elections, but its 41 percent share was a sharp drop from the last polls in 2011, when it won nearly half the vote.

Read: Turkey ruling party loses majority in blow for Erdogan

Under Turkey’s proportional representation system, this means the AKP will need to form a coalition for the first time since coming to power in 2002.

The results also wrecked Erdogan’s dream of agreeing a new constitution to switch Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system that he had made a fundamental issue in the campaign.