President Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Wednesday that elections will be held on May 14, sticking to his previous plan for the vote with a date just over three months after a devastating earthquake killed more than 45,000 people in Turkiye.
\n\u201cThis nation will do what is necessary on May 14, God willing,\u201d Erdogan said in a speech to lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, in an apparent reference to elections seen as representing his biggest-ever political challenge.
\nThere had been conflicting signals over the likely timing of the presidential and parliamentary elections since last month\u2019s earthquake, with some suggesting they could be postponed until later in the year or could be held as scheduled on June 18.
\nBefore the disaster, Erdogan\u2019s popularity had been eroded in recent years by soaring inflation and a slump in the lira which hit living standards, although some opinion polls in recent months had shown signs of a pick-up in his support.
\nErdogan has faced a wave of criticism over his government\u2019s handling of the deadliest quake in the nation\u2019s modern history. But he defended Ankara\u2019s response on Wednesday, saying it had been caught up in \u201ca storm of earthquakes\u201d.
\n\u201cWe will build better buildings in place of those which collapsed. We will win hearts and we will unroll a new future in front of our people,\u201d he said in a speech accompanied by a video showing all the state had done in response to the disaster.
\nErdogan, aiming to extend his rule into a third decade, had previously said he was bringing the votes forward to May to avoid holidays in June.
\nDoubts have been expressed over election authorities\u2019 ability to make logistical arrangements for those affected in the quake zone, home to some 14 million people, to vote. Election officials are visiting the region this week to prepare a report on its preparedness.
\n\u2018Second thoughts\u2019
\nErdogan rose to power 20 years ago as Turkiye grappled with a severe economic crisis in 2001 and chronic corruption that crippled institutions. The coalition of that time had faced accusations of mishandling a devastating 1999 earthquake.
\nNow he also must contend with criticism over the response to the quake in a region that traditionally backed him. He took 55 per cent of the vote in the 10 quake hit-provinces in a 2018 presidential election and his party and its partners won the same level of support in a parliamentary election.
\nSome Turks in one of the areas worst hit by the quake voiced disappointment on Wednesday at the state response to the disaster, which they said had a negative impact on people\u2019s views of the government.
\n\u201cEveryone here votes for the AKP instinctively. But help arrived here very late. People are having second thoughts,\u201d said a market owner in the town of Narli, 20 kilometres from the first quake\u2019s epicentre.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t believe the opposition is up to the task either. But we need fundamental change,\u201d said 70-year-old farmer Mehmet from the village of Igdeli.
\nEarlier today, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the death toll in Turkiye had risen to 45,089, bringing the total toll including Syria to about 51,000. The quake also injured 108,000 people in Turkiye.
\nAnkara faces a huge challenge in repairing the immense destruction caused by the earthquake and subsequent powerful tremors, which left millions sheltering in tents or seeking to move to other cities.
\nErdogan has pledged to rebuild homes within a year but it will be many months before thousands can swap tents or containers and queues for food handouts for permanent housing.
\nHe said on Wednesday that more than 200,000 buildings had been destroyed or seriously damaged in the quakes. Some two million people were registered as having fled the region, which has been hit by more than 11,000 aftershocks, AFAD said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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