Explainer-How the earthquake threw Turkey's election plan into turmoil

Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's devastating earthquake has thrown into disarray plans for elections to be held by June, sparking frantic debate within President Tayyip Erdogan's government and the opposition over a possible delay.

Even before the disaster - the deadliest in the country's modern history - opinion polls suggested very tight presidential and parliamentary contests.