After two decades in power, Erdoğan is often perceived as more popular than his party, yet the earthquakes, whose epicentres were beneath the AKP’s heartlands where the party routinely swept at least 70% of the vote, threaten to upend public support for both. In Kahramanmaraş and nearby Nurdağı, some voters expressed cautious support for the AKP, but more were angry at a lacklustre government response to the earthquakes and doubted Erdoğan’s promises of rapid reconstruction. Many suggested their previous discomfort with criticising the party had been rapidly displaced in the aftermath of the disaster, emboldening them to speak more openly.
