According to a recent poll by the Gezici Research and Polling Company, the overwhelming majority of people in Turkey are opposed to the presidential system of government that is being heavily promoted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Gezici -- which was subject to an extraordinary tax inspection following its findings of low approval rates for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in February -- revealed that 77.1 percent of people disapprove of the proposed presidential system, while 22.9 percent are in favor of it.
The poll was conducted in 36 provinces across Turkey with 4,860 respondents. Among AK Party voters, disapproval for the type of presidential system favored by Erdoğan and the pro-government media is high, with 64 percent opposing such a change. In addition, respondents believe that the presidential system would increase authoritarianism (72 percent) and lead to the territorial partition of the country (76 percent).
The poll, which was conducted in March, again found that the AK Party's share of the vote is currently under 40 percent, in stark contrast to other polling companies. According to Gezici's results, after undecided votes are distributed between the parties, the AK Party receives only 39.3 percent of the vote, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) gets 29.6 percent. The second largest opposition party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), receives 17.7 percent of the vote, while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) passes the critical 10 percent threshold and seems poised to enter Parliament, with support standing at 11.4 percent.
The poll also measured government pressure on the media -- something that only 30 percent of AK Party voters agree is a problem. In general, 67.2 percent of people in Turkey believe that the government and the president deliberately place pressure on the media. Similarly, 38.7 percent of AK Party voters expressed their discomfort with Erdoğan's intervention in party-political affairs and the government.
When respondents were asked to list three problems that they experience in their daily lives, inflation turned out to be the number-one concern. A total of 66.8 percent of people said they have difficulty in making ends meet, while 21.2 percent said they were unemployed.
According to respondents, the government has made mistakes in its attempts to solve the problems of inflation and unemployment and has mismanaged the settlement process with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The construction of the lavish Ak Saray presidential palace is also viewed negatively by people due to its enormous cost to the taxpayer. Furthermore, 70.4 percent of people agree that there is governmental pressure on the judiciary.
AK Party losing votes to MHP, other poll suggests
According to a recent survey by MetroPOLL, whose results were announced on Samanyolu Haber TV on Tuesday, there has been a slide in support for the AK Party over the last month. The president of the company, Professor Özer Sencar, said that 1-1.5 percent of the AK Party vote had gone to the MHP, adding that in the event of an alliance between the two ultra-nationalist parties, the MHP and the Grand Unity Party (BBP), they would receive 21.5 percent of the vote.
The MetroPOLL survey, conducted in March with the participation of 2,580 people, found that after the distribution of undecided voters, the AK Party's share of the vote stood at 41.8 percent, down from 43.1 percent in February.
Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/national_overwhelming-majority-against-presid...
