President of Turkey Tayyip Erdogan's government is inclined to hold Turkey's elections as scheduled in June, having cooled on the idea of postponing due to this month's devastating earthquake, three officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
Last month Erdogan, aiming to extend his rule into a third decade, said he was bringing the presidential and parliamentary votes forward to May to avoid holidays in June. Polls suggest they would be present his biggest electoral challenge yet.
Days after the quake struck on Feb. 6, killing more than 42,000 people in Turkey, an official said it posed "serious difficulties" for holding elections on time. Now those close to the president say the government has turned against the idea of a postponement.
"It is very likely that an agreement will be reached on holding the election on June 18," a government official said, adding that Erdogan and his nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli would meet to reach a final decision.
He said a shadow was cast over the idea of a postponement by the perception that the government was avoiding elections, by the opposition's negative response to the proposal, and by legal issues relating to the constitution.
He and the other officials were speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
The presidency and Erdogan's ruling AK Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the timing of the election.
