Support for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)-led People’s Alliance increased following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s announcement of a series of bold financial tools to protect the Turkish lira on Dec. 20, according to a recent survey conducted by Optimar research company.
The survey, conducted between Dec. 20-28 among 2,526 individuals, revealed that the AK Party’s support increased to 39.1% and support for its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was reported as 10.1% in comparison to a November survey. The main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) support started declining in the period, falling to 24%, while support for the Good Party (IP) and the pro-PKK Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were reported as 10% each.
Optimar’s survey conducted in November had put AK Party’s support at 37.5%.
In response to a question on which political party would be able to solve economic problems in Turkey, 27.9% had said AK Party and 25.17% had said CHP in November. The figures jumped to 32.3% for the AK Party and fell to 21.3% for CHP in December, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, 30.1% of participants said their favorite politician was Erdoğan, while 11.4% said Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, followed by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu at 8.5% and CHP Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at 6.2%. IP Chairperson Meral Akşener was the least popular with 4.4%.
In a potential election scenario with Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu running as candidates for president, 43% said they would vote for Erdoğan, 28.4% said they would vote for the CHP chair, while 28.6% remained indecisive.
In a scenario with Erdoğan against Imamoğlu, 41.3% said they would vote for Erdoğan and 32% said they would vote for the Istanbul mayor, while 26.7% remain undecided.
In a scenario with Erdoğan against Yavaş, 38.8% said they would vote for Erdoğan and 34.8% said they would vote for the Yavaş, while 26.4% remain undecided.
The pollsters also asked people about former President Abdullah Gül against President Erdoğan. Some 40.2% of participants said they would vote for Erdoğan, while 24.8% said Gül and the percentage of undecided voters hit 34%.
Turkey held its last general elections in 2018, where the AK Party and the country's current president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, came out victorious. The next election is expected to take place in June 2023.
Turkish officials, including President Erdoğan, have dismissed the opposition’s requests for snap elections and said the elections would be held on the scheduled date on 2023, the centenary of the Republic of Turkey.
The elected president’s term of office is five years, and a person may be elected as the president for two terms at most.
The People's Alliance decided on a 7% election threshold from 10% back in September.
Candidates will run in a two-round system requiring the absolute majority of votes to be elected and a runoff will be held if nobody gains a majority in the first round.