Areda Survey: Almost 50 percent of Turkish residents would vote for Erdogan in an election
Turkish incumbent President Tayyip Erdogan is the favorite in the election race, according to a survey conducted by the Areda Survey research center, Yeni Şafak newspaper reported.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that general elections (both presidential and parliamentary) in Turkey are scheduled for May 14. He said that in March, the government will propose to the parliament to accept May 14 as the date for general elections, and in case of refusal, he will use the powers of the president. Erdoğan’s powers are enough to dissolve parliament and call early elections 60 days after the decree. Erdoğan will be the candidate of the Union of the Republic. A coalition of six opposition parties has not yet announced a candidate.
The Feb. 23-Feb. 27 poll, conducted with 3,000 participants, asked participants “Who would you vote for if a presidential election were held this Sunday?”
“While 49.8 percent of participants responded that they would vote for President Erdogan, the closest name to him was Kılıçdaroğlu (leader of the People’s Republican Party Kemal) with 21.7 percent. Yavas (Ankara Mayor Mansur) with 9.6 percent and Imamoglu (Istanbul Mayor Ekrem) with 6.9 percent,” the newspaper writes.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) ranked first in the party preferences of respondents, the survey results show.
Thus, 38.5% of respondents said they would vote for the ruling party.
The People’s Republican Party (CHP) came in second place with 22.8 percent, while the Democratic Party of Peoples (HDP) came in third with 10.5 percent.
Earlier, TV channel Habertürk, citing its own sources, reported that amid a series of devastating earthquakes, the general elections in Turkey could be postponed for six months to a year. According to the newspaper, the Higher Election Commission (YSK) will come up with a corresponding initiative at the request of the ruling party. However, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said there is a tendency to hold general elections in May if there is no reverse political consensus in the coming days.
