Looming presidential and parliamentary polls will mark a new rise for Türkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, promising to revive 11 provinces that have been destroyed by the earthquakes.

“We, as the People Alliance, have hit the road for a new journey. And I believe you will turn May 14 into a new rise for Türkiye,” Erdogan said at a ceremony for the inauguration of multiple projects in Bagcilar district of Istanbul on April 2.

There are 42 days to go to one of Türkiye’s most critical polls and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will continue to work until the last day, Erdogan said “On that day we will give necessary lessons to those who need a lesson. We will keep all the promises we have given to our people in the earthquake region as we did in the past 20 years.”

The government will do everything to heal the wounds of around 14 million who have been impacted by the disaster and revive the destroyed cities, Erdogan said. “We are resolving the shelter problem through tents, containers and prefabs. But we have also started to build permanent houses. As of today, we have laid the foundations of 65,000 houses. This figure will increase. Our objective is to deliver a total of 650,000 houses to our earthquake sufferers,” he stated.