Turkey intends to hold elections on May 14 despite quake

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president has indicated that his government intends to hold elections in May despite an earthquake that devastated parts of southern Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday chided critics of the government’s handling of the earthquake’s aftermath and said the people would give their response to those critics on May 14. The Feb. 6 earthquake and strong aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria have killed around 50,000 people. The vast majority of deaths were in Turkey. Close to 204,000 buildings either collapsed or were severely damaged in Turkey. That has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. The presidential and general elections come at a tough time for Erdogan who has seen a decline in his ratings because of skyrocketing inflation.