ANKARA, Jan 18 (AFP-NT) - Islamic leader Necmettin Erbakan on Thursday refused to confirm that he would abandon the quest to form a coalition and return his mandate to Turkey's president, despite an earlier announcement by conservative leader Mesut Yilmaz. "We are going to meet tomorrow (Friday) with the party's authorities, to assess the situation and take a decision," Erbakan, leader of the Welfare Party (Refah), told a press conference after a meeting with Yilmaz. Should Erbakan duly hand back his mandate, Demirel would be expected to appoint a new prime minister-designate, which by tradition would be Ciller, as leader of the next largest parliamentary party. hc/bl/gd AFP /AA1234/181447 GMT

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