Erdo?an to meet four leaders in new parliament after surprise meet with CHP's Baykal

In yet another move contrary to state customs, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has said he plans to hold separate meetings with leaders of the four parties that entered parliament in the June 7 election before granting the mandate to form a new government to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which won around 41 percent of the vote but failed to secure the parliamentary majority required to rule alone. 

?I would like to invite them separately and get their opinion about the process,? Erdo?an told a group of journalists en route from Baku to Istanbul on June 13, after attending the opening ceremony of the first European Games in the Azerbaijani capital.

?I may begin these meetings before the deputies are sworn in at parliament, so I could invite them in the coming week,? he added, while speaking to journalists including Hürriyet daily columnist Vahap Munyar.

The newly elected members of the 25th term of parliament of the Republic of Turkey will gather on the fifth day after the announcement of the final election results by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) and the oath-taking ceremony will take place at first sitting, which is expected to convene on June 23 or 24.

Erdo?an?s intention to meet the four leaders before giving a mandate to one of them is not a traditional practice. Likewise, his initiative to hold a meeting with the former leader of the main opposition Republican People?s Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, was also a surprise to many as it was not a usual practice. The meeting led to speculation that the president was involved in plans to help form a coalition between the AKP and the CHP, the top two parties in the election, after the former lost its parliamentary majority.

When he met with Baykal on June 10, Erdo...