Criticism poured in after supporters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)-led Nation Alliance sent a series of insulting and threatening messages targeting voters in Türkiye’s earthquake-hit provinces for voting in favor of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Some CHP supporters took to social media to criticize to insult earthquake survivors for voting in favor of the president and his alliance.
Some went as far as saying that quake survivors who voted for the ruling party should have died in the deadly Feb. 6 earthquakes.
Nine out of 11 provinces hit by the deadly disaster voted for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Main opposition CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu won 71% of the vote share in Diyarbakır and 48.1% in Hatay provinces.
The CHP-run Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality, which has been providing accommodation to earthquake survivors, told them to leave the hotels they were staying at following the earthquakes.
Dumfounded by the move, quake survivors decried the municipality’s decision.
"They think we deserve this just because the earthquake zone voted for the AK Party?" a quake survivor was quoted as saying by the Hürriyet daily.
The quake survivors were accommodated in designated hotels until the construction of permanent homes as per the contract, but they were evicted before the legal date, which was recorded as August 2023 on the contract.
Gathered in front of the hotel they had been staying at, quake survivors told press that Tekirdağ municipality told them they would be staying in the hotel for six months, and the date would be extended if their homes were not constructed on the promised date.
"They’re doing this because we voted for the AK Party and now we will vote again for the AK Party on purpose," they said.
The head of CHP’s Women’s Branch in Darıca district of Kocaeli, Nevriye Cura Gir, was one of those who targeted quake survivors for their political choice.
"God damn our love for humans," Gir said, adding that it is good that the earthquake survivors buried the dead.
While some users cussed and insulted earthquake survivors, others regreted sending much-needed aid and financial assistance to the quake-hit zones.
CHP’s Çine District Mayor Enver Salih Dinçer’s wife Tuba Gelincik Dinçer was also among those who targeted earthquake survivors.
"Our earthquake survivors have forgotten about their dead loved ones and embraced living in tents... What can I say, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has saved the wrong nation," she said on Twitter.
Other messages posted by CHP supporters included profanities, cursing, insults and threats against earthquake survivors, saying that they would never bother sending aid or financial assistance to them.
Infuriated by the blatant hatred and insults, actor Sinan Taymin Albayrak posted a video on Instagram, slamming those behind such messages.
"These comments make me really nauseous," Albayrak said, adding that such messages are divisive and completely against democracy.
"Please, for God’s sake, let your wisdom, logic and heart step in, regardless or your political views or whoever you want to win the elections," he said.