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Deadly quake puts Erdogan under pressure in May polls

The stakes could hardly be higher for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Just three months before the biggest test of his political career, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, killing more than 15,000 people. On May 14, Turkey will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections that polls conducted before the disaster showed would turn into a tight race for Erdogan, who has led the country since 2003. And even before disaster struck in the pre-dawn hours of Monday, Erdogan was trying to put out a series of crises at the same time.

Given that the current state of emergency is expected to end just days before the May vote, Erdogan might find himself in a dire political situation - Click the link for more details.

On 3 November 2002, Erdogan's newly founded AKP, Justice and Development Party, came to power in Turkey. It has ruled the country ever since, becoming more authoritarian with each victory. By Elmas Topcu

In Turkey, the secular opposition is seeking to enshrine the right of women to wear a headscarf in law – scoring an own goal that plays straight into President Erdogan’s hands. Yet again, men are arguing about women's clothing. By Burak Unveren