While serving as the Mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan had been sentenced to a 10-month prison term in 1998 for reciting a poem in Siirt for which he was accused of inciting racial intolerance.

Following the disaster, the government pledged to implement stricter building regulations and established an "earthquake tax" to enhance readiness in a nation located on two major geological fault lines.

Despite these initiatives, the government's slow response to the calamity contributed significantly to the rise of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power.

[2] A few days before the match between Fenerbahçe and Malatyaspor, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yılmaz was a guest on a TV channel with Can Ataklı.

Prior to the Malatyaspor match at Fenerbahçe's closed stands, a huge banner was unfurled, reading "We'll see you at the ballot box, Mr.

With early results already being announced by foreign media outlets, Turkish television switched to a live shot of the Electoral Authority headquarters until the blackout was revoked at 7.30pm .

Although the AKP's sweeping victory was clear, Erdoğan could not be appointed prime minister because of his criminal conviction, which had prevented him from standing for parliament.