The devastating earthquake, which occurred at dawn on February 6, claimed more than 50,000 lives and nearly 14 million people were affected in the states: Kilis, Diyarbakir, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Adiyaman, Malatya, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş.
Despite the massive destruction, the majority of votes in these southern Turkish states went to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling “popular” coalition, which managed to conduct the parliamentary elections with a wide margin on the opposition “nation” coalition. .
In seven of the ten quake-affected states, Erdogan took the lead, while Kilicdaroglu took the lead in three states.
The Justice and Development Party came first in nine cities and the Green Left Party in one state, with Erdogan winning almost 72% of the vote in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquake and the state the most affected, and more than 60% in the rest. of the states he won.
Reasons for support
Political analyst Daniel Abdel-Fattah, who resides in Istanbul, explained to Sky News Arabia the reasons why the states involved voted overwhelmingly in favor of Erdogan and the “people’s” ruling alliance.
• President Erdogan has offered the affected areas numerous donations from the State Treasury, the most important of which was the granting of financial assistance of $500 to all affected families, regardless of the extent of the damage inflicted on them. inflicted. billion Turkish liras for earthquake relief. • The government provided assistance for residential buildings that were destroyed. • Committed to removing rubble from cities and rebuilding destroyed and damaged homes. • provide support for small projects damaged by the earthquake. • Provide health care to those affected and provide them with assistance. • the government has rented rooms in public and tourist hotels to accommodate the victims of the earthquake. • Suspend studies in universities and transform university campuses into refuges for people affected by the earthquake. The Development Party deliberately simplified the election campaign, away from extravagance, glamor and festivals, for the sake of the earthquake victims.
Erdogan’s commitments
During his election campaigns, Erdogan reiterated his government’s commitment to rebuild the earthquake-affected areas and heal the wounds of those affected, on the condition that the state build housing and deliver it to citizens free of charge. affected within two years.
He announced that the government was working to build 650,000 apartments in earthquake-affected areas, noting that it aimed to return 319,000 homes to their owners within a year.
He explained that the reconstruction process of cities is commensurate with their history and culture and meets their social and commercial needs, noting that existing industries have been strengthened in Kahramanmaraş, a new industrial zone will be established in the Afshin region and that the government will take all necessary measures to compensate the losses of producers and farmers, including the provision of diesel, fertilizers and supplies for livestock.
The lack of an alternative
For his part, Ali Sharkoglu, professor of political science, says that the opposition expected the Turks to punish Erdogan for the earthquake disaster and the economic crisis, but things are not handled that way.
Sharkoglu added, “People in the earthquake-affected areas don’t know how they will live their lives, and when they looked for information that would give them confidence, they didn’t see the opposition coalition of the nation and Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a position to provide assistance, and they saw no alternative in them that could lift them up”.
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