Akp And Chp Continue Preliminary Coalition Talks

- Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chair Haluk Koç gathered on July 21 as part of “exploratory” talks between the two parties aimed at forming a coalition government.

The meeting was aimed to determine the framework of the talks and the parties would be able to reach a positive or negative result in 10 to 12 days at most, Koç said after the meeting, noting they have not discussed details yet.

Their meeting was aimed at determining the codes, coordination and standards of the process, Çelik said, adding through this process the parties would decide whether to proceed to the negotiation stage or not.
Çelik said the delegations of the parties will likely meet at the latest by the end of the week or early next week. Çelik is set to meet with Koç again later this week.

These preliminary meetings will determine the framework of the principles of the talks, the topics and the venue of negotiations, Çelik said. Both the CHP and the AKP will make internal evaluations in the coming days, he noted. The parties will also determine the participants of “exploratory” talks, Çelik added.

Negotiations will proceed starting from political issues to economic ones, according to the minister.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was to meet with the AKP Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) as well as the cabinet on late July 21, after the Daily News went press.

Davutoğlu completed the first round of talks with the leaders of the CHP, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) last week.

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and AKP chairman Davutoğlu have tasked Koç and Çelik with being contact points for discussions regarding a CHP-AKP coalition

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