Parliament Approves State Of Emergency Earthquake Affected Provinces

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has approved President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to invoke a state of emergency in the 10 provinces most impacted by the Feb 6 earthquakes. The state of emergency (OHAL) will be in place for three months,

• Ragip Soylu at Middle East Eye: "Erdogan says he will use state of emergency powers to crack down on “sedition groups” that abuse the aftermath of the earthquake and “lead to corruption in trade” Also to prevent “looting in markets and shopping Centers”."
• The state of emergency allows the gov't to send provisions, money, and recovery services to the affected areas, but also provides the Erdogan administration with the power to effectively rule by decree in these regions. Some opponents of the president have warned that these powers could be used to impact the run-up to the May general elections.
• On 8 Feb, the pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) Spokesperson Ebru Günay criticised the state of emergency and Erdogan, saying in a presser "In fact, OHAL was announced to prevent solidarity among the people, all kinds of aid, search, and rescue volunteers from entering the affected areas. We will never accept it."