Politics talks elections, citizens talk livelihood: The earthquake zone's agenda is the same

Ipsos Turkey investigated whether there has been a difference in citizens' sentiments following the February 6 earthquakes. The study found that, independent of the earthquake, citizens are experiencing negative emotions due to the economic crisis.

70 PERCENT ARE TALKING ABOUT LIVELIHOOD

In the study, when asked "What have we been talking about for the last week?", 70 percent of Turkey responded with "Difficulty in making a living, cost of living," while this rate was 71 percent in earthquake-affected provinces. While elections and social media agendas rank ahead of earthquakes in non-earthquake provinces, the possibility of a new earthquake and ongoing needs are discussed more in earthquake-affected provinces compared to the general population.

Ipsos Turkey CEO Sidar Gedik pointed out that society showed an admirable example of solidarity from the very first moment after the earthquake and that very intense support activities took place in the first weeks, but noted that as of April 2023, the earthquake lost its place on the list of the country's most important problems.

EARTHQUAKE RISK MORE THAN ELECTIONS

Stating that the rate of citizens outside the region expressing the needs of the region remained at 19 percent, Gedik emphasized that the possibility of a new earthquake occupies the agenda of those living in the region more than the elections. Explaining that measures against earthquakes have come to the fore among the candidates' commitments in the elections, Gedik said, "It is very important that the disaster has served as a wake-up call in this sense. We hope that the candidates will quickly implement the projects they have put forward today and that we can make our buildings prepared for earthquakes. Leaving safe cities for the generations after us should be our duty."

News Source: 12punto