The results of a public survey may have played a role in the main opposition Republican People’s Party‘s (CHP) nomination of Yalova deputy Muharrem İnce as its candidate for president, according to journalist Fatih Altaylı
Turkey will hold snap presidential and general elections on June 24, almost a year and a half earlier than scheduled.
In his column for the Haber Türk daily on Friday, Altaylı talked about a public survey conducted by the Konsensus polling company in which respondents were asked about the chances of possible CHP candidates in the second round of voting in the presidential election against the incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is also the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) presidential candidate.
The question asked respondents who they would support in the second round of voting if nobody is elected in the first round.
The possible CHP candidates were CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, CHP deputy İlhan Kesici, former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and İnce.
The results showed Kılıçdaroğlu at 42.3 percent to Erdoğan’s 57.7 percent, Kesici at 39.9 percent with Erdoğan at 60.1 percent, Başbuğ at 42.3 percent to Erdoğan’s 57.7 percent and İnce at 44.9 percent with Erdoğan garnering 55.1 percent of the vote
Altaylı wrote that the results of this survey may have played a role in Kılıçdaroğlu’s decision to eliminate the other possible candidates and nominate İnce.