These are “the elections of the century” for the Turks, 100 years after the proclamation of the Republic. Crucial presidential and legislative elections. In less than a month. Recep Tayip Erdogan, in power for 20 years, will again be a candidate. But it is increasingly disputed. This is particularly the case in the regions affected by the earthquake of February 6 (at least 50,000 dead). Victims divided over Erdogan’s handling. Report in Nurdagi a few kilometers from the epicentre.
With our special correspondent in Nurdagi, Alexis Bedu
His building was right here. Today it is a wasteland. Mehmet Topal, with a weary face, lost his 18-year-old son in the earthquake: “ My son tried to go into the kitchen. He thought he could escape through the window, when the wall fell on his face. It took everything, his nose, his mouth… with the shock, he was thrown more than 4 meters »
A few weeks before the elections, despite the pain, despite the questions he asks himself, he does not want to blame Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “ I will still vote for the AKP… Tayyip is not solely responsible for what is happening here. The economy is not doing well, but it is turning, it continues. He can’t do everything. He serves the country well, he does his best. Even in places where donkeys couldn’t go, he built roads “.
Ali, a friend and colleague of Mehmet, is listening… He has an AKP cap on his head, and yet he will never vote for the outgoing president’s party again. ” He is wrong when he says that Erdogan and his government are not responsible for the disaster. This building was a year old, this one 5 years old, this man has been in power for 20 years, of course he is responsible! Me and my whole family have voted for the AKP so far. We won’t give him a newsletter anymore »
The two friends hug each other. In the region, political disagreements have become quite secondary since the February 6 earthquake.
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