Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to hold general elections on May 14, despite the devastating earthquake that struck the country, Bloomberg reports Wednesday, citing sources.
According to interlocutors of the agency, although on Tuesday Erdogan has introduced the state of emergency in 10 earthquake-affected provinces for 90 days, he plans to hold elections on May 14, as previously planned. Sources also suggested that the emergency arrangements may end before the three-month deadline expires.
According to Bloomberg, Erdogan has the right to postpone elections for a year in case of war, but not in case of a natural disaster. In order for the voting to take place later than the June deadline, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) must reach an agreement with its political opponents to amend the constitution. In order for the vote to take place in mid-May, Erdogan must officially launch the electoral process by about March 10. If the president fails to do so for some reason, elections will have to be held on June 18, but the agency's sources estimate the chances of such a development are slim.
The Turkish presidential administration declined to comment.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 occurred on Monday in Kahramanmaras province in southeastern Turkey. The quake shocks, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, were felt in ten provinces of the country, as well as in neighboring countries, including Syria. According to the latest data, more than 7.1 thousand people were killed in Turkey and almost 41 thousand people were affected.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS