There had been conflicting signals over the likely timing of the presidential and parliamentary elections since last month's earthquake, with some suggesting they could be postponed until later in the year or could be held as scheduled on June 18. Erdogan has faced a wave of criticism over his government's handling of the deadliest quake in the nation's modern history. Now he also must contend with criticism over the response to the quake in a region that traditionally backed him. The quake also injured 108,000 people in Turkey. Some two million people were registered as having fled the region, which has been hit by more than 11,000 aftershocks, AFAD said.

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