Erdoğan vows priority to restore earthquake-hit region

KİLİS

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged his administration's commitment to prioritize the restoration of Türkiye's southern region stricken by devastating earthquakes in early February last year.

"We are literally working day and night to lay brick after brick in our [earthquake-hit] provinces," Erdoğan declared during a rally in Kilis, one of the 11 cities impacted by tremors, on March 21.

"No matter what others do, our first priority is the recovery of the earthquake zone."

Kilis witnessed 33 fatalities and the destruction of 457 buildings in the disaster. Erdoğan revealed that debris from 680 buildings, including those slated for immediate demolition, has been cleared.

Expressing his government's focus on reconstruction, Erdoğan disclosed ongoing discussions and initiatives during cabinet meetings aimed at overseeing progress and addressing challenges encountered in the region.

"Meanwhile, the earthquake tourists stopped by the area briefly, posed in front of the debris, and then left. They never came here again," he said in a veiled criticism of the opposition. "They found new subjects to exploit."

Erdoğan pledged to provide 200,000 new houses to beneficiaries in the earthquake-hit region by year's end.

The president also addressed the upcoming local elections scheduled for March 31, expressing confidence in "winning the hearts of Kilis residents" through projects.

Kilis is among 22 provinces where ruling alliance partners, Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), are fielding separate candidates.

With the recent passing of Mehmet Abdi Bulut, who won the previous election in 2019 for AKP, the municipality is currently under the leadership of council member Servet Ramazan from the same party.

In the upcoming election, Reşit Polat, nominated by AKP, will compete against Hasan Kara from MHP, Hakan Bilecen from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Yasin Topaloğlu from İYİ (Good) Party for the municipality.

Erdoğan then cited investments made during his administration in Kilis, including the construction of over 1,000 classrooms, higher education dormitories with a capacity of approximately 4,300 and sports facilities, amounting to 26 billion Turkish liras.

"Our only reference in politics is our services and investments," he stated. "We are a government that speaks through our actions and the projects we bring to our cities."