Opinion polls indicated - yesterday, Friday - that the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey - led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - retained its base of support among voters to a large extent after the devastating earthquake that occurred last February, despite widespread criticism directed at it. Opposition to the government's initial handling of the disaster.

Two polls released in the past few days show the opposition has not garnered new support, in part because it failed to announce its candidate with only two months left to vote, and lacks a concrete plan to rebuild quake-ravaged areas.

"The earthquake did not weaken the government as much as the opposition had expected," Ozer Sinjar, head of polling company Metropole, told Reuters.

The poll data conducted by his company puts Erdogan's "coalition" with the MHP in the lead if the elections are held soon, despite the coalition losing several percentage points in its approval rating compared to last January.

Two violent earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey on February 6, killing more than 45,000 people and displacing more than a million, in the worst disaster to hit the country in its modern history.

Last Wednesday, Erdogan indicated that the elections will be held on May 14, adhering to his previous plan to vote, despite the fact that there are some questions about the possibility of voting in the areas affected by the earthquake.

Immediately after the earthquake, reports circulated in opposition media that government search and rescue teams had overburdened their capacity and were slow in sending their personnel to the affected areas, while others criticized the government's lax implementation of building safety standards, which they said caused the collapse of even new homes.

Promises of reconstruction

Erdogan publicly acknowledged problems in the early days after the disaster due to bad weather, but defended his government's handling of the crisis.

Mehmet Ali Kulat, head of the MAK polling company, said Erdogan was quick to pledge to rebuild homes, a pledge that is likely to help him retain voter support.

"When people go through a disaster like this, we see the psychological reactions for several days and it is directed to the government, and once 15 or 20 days have passed, they stay closer than any individual who undertakes to rebuild their collapsed homes or workplaces, perhaps this is an advantage for the government," Kulat added.

He said that surveys conducted after the earthquake showed that the percentage of support for Erdogan's coalition with the National Movement Party was about 40 or 41%.

Another poll conducted by the Istanbul Economic Research Company between February 16 and 20, with the participation of 2,000 people, showed a slight increase of 0.1 points in Erdogan's approval rating compared to last January.

And 34% of the participants in the survey, called "Turkey's Report," said that construction contractors are responsible for the damage caused by the earthquake in Turkey, while 28% held the government responsible.

Ozer Sinjar, head of polling company Metropole, said pro-AKP voters overwhelmingly blamed contractors for the disaster, which is one reason the party lost so little support.

Turkey's hyperinflation and growing poverty eroded Erdogan's popularity last year, but he has since managed to regain some support by announcing increases in the minimum wage and steps to facilitate early retirement.

"After the initial stumble, we witnessed the government's shift to using a language of discourse that is more unified for the people. The government has succeeded in establishing the concept that it is the one who helps heal wounds," said Nazih Onur Koru, a researcher at the "Team" research group.

This seems to have contributed to supporting Erdogan's position in the polls, and a survey conducted by "Team" with the participation of 1930 people on February 19 and 20 showed that his coalition with the National Movement Party maintained a level of support at 44% after the earthquake.