Maraş earthquakes: Will State of Emergency affect elections?

Click to read the article in Turkish

President and Chairperson of Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced today that a State of Emergency is declared in the ten cities hit by the earthquake until May 7.

One question on all people's minds is about the elections.

Will the presidential and parliamentary elections that are to be held normally on June 18, or earlier as stated by some on May 14, be affected by the State of Emergency (SoE)?

Associate Professor Didem Yılmaz is the chairperson of the Department of Constitutional Law at Bilgi University.

She says that SoE will not affect the elections and that the elections can only be postponed due to war.

It is normal in a democratic state to declare SoE in such a disaster where 15 million people are affected, Yılmaz thinks. However, she does not believe that this should be opted for in Türkiye now. The reason is the SoE experience we had following the attempted coup in 2016.

"The SoE was turned into a lawless regime using decrees for legislation. And the Constitutional Court enabled this leaving aside previous decisions. Therefore we are all concerned," she says.

"SoE powers should be narrowed"

So what will happen next?

The SoE decision will be published in the Official Gazette. It will then be submitted for approval to the parliament.

Yılmaz believes that in the parliament, the opposition parties should try to narrow the powers of the President with those stated in articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 (in natural disasters and dangerous pandemics). These articles provide opportunities to overcome this horrible disaster, she says.

"Elections cannot be postponed"

June 18 is the normal date of the elections. It was presented as if the elections were going to be held on May 13. But this is only possible by taking a decision to renew the elections. There is no such decision taken yet.

The elections on June 18 can only be postponed due to war. It is clear as that. Article 78 of the Constitution says, "The parliament can decide to postpone the elections for one year if it is not deemed possible to hold the elections due to war."

Therefore, says Yılmaz the earthquake cannot be used as a justification for postponing the elections to be held on June 18.

Are snap elections possible?

There is no provision preventing snap elections, says the academician. A decision by the President or a decision by the Parliament with three fifth majority is needed.

However, Yılmaz does not think this will be possible. There is a terrible situation, she says. The agenda is completely different. There is rescue work going on in ten cities. It will not be easy to remove the wreckage.

"The President therefore cannot take a decision for elections on March 10. He should not. Because this is not the priority. The election date is set anyhow, it is June 18. Now what the administration should do is to help life return to normal in the 10 provinces and to bind up the wounds. (HA/PE)