ISTANBUL: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he would ask Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to form a coalition government, after it lost its overall majority in legislative elections.

Should the AKP fail in the talks, Erdogan said he would then ask the second-placed opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to form the government.

And only if those talks failed, Erdogan said, would he use his right within the constitution to call early elections.

“It is unthinkable that the country is left without a government,” Erdogan told Turkish media aboard his presidential plane while returning from a trip to Azerbaijan.

“I will first give the mandate (for talks) to the head of the political party that won the most votes,” he said, referring to Prime Minister and AKP leader Ahmet Davutoglu.

“If it (a coalition) cannot be established, I will then give the mandate to the head of the party that finished second,” he said, referring to CHP chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Erdogan said snap elections would then follow if these talks failed, but said he preferred to term them “repeat elections” rather than “early elections.” He said that next week he would be inviting the leaders of all four parties who won seats in Parliament for talks.