Earthquake could shake up Turkish election

Source:al Monitor Date:11Feb2023

And that means the fallout from the earthquake will be more problematic for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan than it is for his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad. Erdogan has been in power 20 years, either as president or prime minister, but he will face the voters on May 14 in a tight race.

The pressure on Erdogan is massive. Nearly 20,000 have so far died in Turkey as a result of the quake. Among the 10 Turkish provinces that are in the disaster zone, seven (Adiyaman, Malatya, Kilis, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa) are controlled by mayors from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP); Diyarbakir is controlled by a government-appointed trustee; and only two (Adana and Hatay) are administered by the opposition party.

In other words, the quake hit home with Erdogan’s core constituency, and he needs to show them he can deliver with an election looming.

“That Turkey is reasonably democratic puts Erdogan and the AKP at high risk,” says Bueno de Mesquita.

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/02/earthquake-could-shake-turkish-election#ixzz7t2V2Wwio