His government Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan oriented to conduct of Turkish elections in Juneas originally planned, as thoughts of postponing them due to the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake begin to recede, three officials told Reuters today.

Last month, the Turkish president, who is seeking to extend his rule into a third decade, announced early presidential and parliamentary elections for May 14.

Polls show that the election will be Erdogan’s biggest test to stay in power after two decades in charge of the country.

Days after the Feb. 6 earthquake that killed more than 42,000 people in Turkey, an official said the disaster posed “severe difficulties” for the election to be held on time. Now, those close to the Turkish president say the government is turning against the idea of ​​a postponement.

“It is very likely that an agreement will be reached to hold the elections on June 18,” a government official noted, adding that Erdogan and his nationalist ally Devlet Bakhceli will meet to reach a final decision.

The official said the idea of ​​postponing the election is losing ground because of the image that the government is avoiding the election, given the opposition’s negative response to a postponement proposal and legal issues related to the Constitution.

He and the other officials spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Turkish presidency and Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) did not respond to a request for comment on the election date.

Before the earthquake disaster, Erdogan’s popularity had been eroded by the rising cost of living and the falling lira. He has since faced a wave of criticism over his government’s response to the deadliest earthquake in the country’s modern history.

Turkey today launched a temporary wage support program and banned layoffs in 10 cities to protect workers and businesses from the economic impact of the earthquake.

The government official said opting for elections in May, as Erdogan had previously planned, would give election authorities some time to prepare and make logistical arrangements for citizens in the quake-hit provinces, home to about 13 million people, to vote.

A senior AKP official also stressed that the prevailing scenario is for the elections to be held on June 18.

“Erdogan and Bakhceli will discuss the matter and make a final decision, but at the moment May 14 seems too early a date and both leaders will agree on June 18,” he said.

Another senior Turkish official also said the idea of ​​postponing the election has been abandoned.

“If there was going to be a delay, it would take a year’s delay to make sense. The public doesn’t like that at all. Partly for this reason, June 18 is seen as the most likely date at the moment.”