ISTANBUL-President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday ruled out any delay in elections after the devastating earthquake in February and said the vote would be held on May 14.
“(Turkish) people will do what is necessary on May 14,” he told his ruling party lawmakers in the parliament in Ankara. The Turkish leader previously proposed holding the crunch election on May 14 that could keep his Islamic-rooted government in power until 2028. But after the massive quake that killed more than 45,000 people in Turkey, there had been suspicion whether that vote could go ahead as planned.
Erdogan has declared a three-month state of emergency across 11 quake-hit provinces. The region is still suffering from strong tremors, making the likelihood of campaigning in the area extremely unlikely.