Turkish president's party loses parliamentary majority, faces struggle to form government

ANKARA, Turkey – Voters dealt a stunning rebuke to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday and stalled the Muslim nation's march toward Islamist rule, stripping the powerful leader's AKP party of its parliamentary majority and ending 13 years of one-party rule.

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The democratically-elected Erdogan, through posts as prime minister and presidents, has held office since 2003, and had in recent years begun an alarming crackdown on the media, dissidents and ethnic minorities in what observers feared was an effort to move the NATO nation and U.S. ally toward theocratic rule. In addition to announcing plans to expand the powers of his office, Erdogan had come under intense criticism for building a 1,000-room presidential palace, which was rumored to have gold-plated toilet seats. Erdogan's party was left Monday with few options to form a new government, after it was stripped of its parliamentary majority and opposition parties ruled out joining it in a coalition pact. The AKP won about 41 percent of the votes in Sunday's election and was projected to take 258 seats -- 18 below the minimum required to rule alone. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, an Erdogan ally and fellow AKP member, was scheduled to convene his cabinet and party executives Monday to discuss the party's options as its 13-year single-party rule came to an end. More...

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