Turkey PM to form new government

Turkey's president on Monday asked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to form a new government after the ruling party's resounding victory in July 22 elections, Erdogan said.

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer assigned Erdogan to form a new Cabinet two days after the new Parliament was sworn in. Erdogan has 45 days to present a Cabinet list for Sezer's approval.

Erdogan would not say when he would submit the new Cabinet list nor if he intended to use up the entire 45 days.

Newspaper reports have suggested that Erdogan may delay forming the next Cabinet until after Parliament holds presidential elections so that the new president _ and not Sezer _ approves the list.

Sezer, a staunch secularist, has in the past objected to several names proposed by Erdogan.

Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, which has roots in Turkey's Islamic movement, won 341 of the 550 seats in the Parliament in the general elections. Erdogan promptly resigned after the vote to allow the president to ask him to form a new Cabinet.

Analysts expect a major change in the government because Erdogan's party is pondering nominating his close ally Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for the presidency, a move the opposition fears would greatly expand the Islamic-rooted party's power. Gul abandoned an earlier bid in May.

It was the decision to put Gul forward for the post that sparked a backlash from the opposition, which accused the ruling party of plotting to scrap the predominantly Muslim nation's secular traditions.

Faced with mounting criticism from the opposition backed by the secular military and the country's top court, Erdogan called early general elections.

In a news conference days after the poll, Gul reminded reporters of the election rallies where crowds repeatedly chanted "Gul for President," and added he could not "turn a blind eye to the will of the people."

Erdogan's party needs a quorum in the Parliament to elect Gul, and is likely to secure that as an opposition party last week pledged to be in the assembly during the voting.

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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.