A public opinion poll conducted by the SONAR polling company indicates that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may not win a majority in the first round of votes in the presidential election on June 24, while opposition party candidates have the potential to win against Erdoğan in the second round, the Sözcü daily reported on Saturday.
According to the poll, which was conducted between May 7 and 17 on 3,000 people in 26 provinces, Erdoğan garnered 42 percent support in the first round of votes, whereas Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Muharrem İnce had 21.91 percent, İYİ (Good) Party candidate Meral Akşener had 21 percent, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) candidate Selahattin Demirtaş had 11.01 percent, Felicity Party (SP) candidate Temel Karamollaoğlu had 2.10 percent and the ultranationalist Homeland Party (VP) candidate Doğu Perinçek had 1.98 percent.
The second round of votes will be held on July 8.
The poll indicated that the total share of the opposition alliance between the CHP, İYİ Party and SP could surpass Erdoğan. The HDP has already declared that they will support İnce in the second round but signaled a distance from Akşener.