According to an analysis of an İstanbul mayoral election opinion poll conducted in mid-June by the Konda polling company, only one-third of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) declared support for Binali Yıldırım, the candidate of the ruling party and its ally MHP, the Bianet news website reported on Wednesday.
The survey, which was conducted on 3,498 people between June 15-16, correctly predicted the results of the İstanbul repeat election held on June 23. The company published the comprehensive analysis after the election.
Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) canceled the results of the March 31 İstanbul mayoral election in which opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu won by a razor-thin margin and set June 23 for a repeat election.
In the re-run, Republican People’s Party (CHP) and İYİ (Good) Party candidate İmamoğlu garnered some 54 percent of the vote, while Yıldırım stood at 45 percent, as Konda’s survey suggested.
In Konda’s opinion poll, 28 percent of MHP voters declared support for İmamoğlu, marking an increase from 11 percent on March 31.
It also indicated that 3.5 percent of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters said they would vote for İmamoğlu, who in the survey received strong support from Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voters and Islamist opposition Felicity Party (SP) supporters.
Support among the 18 to 32 age group for İstanbul’s new mayor increased from 37 percent to 58 percent according to the results of the surveys conducted in March and June, indicating the younger generation’s reaction to the YSK decision to cancel the earlier election results.
Yıldırım’s support in same age group decreased from 36 percent in March to 20 percent in June.
According to the survey, 64 percent of university graduates, which constitute some 24 percent of İstanbul’s registered voters, said they would support the opposition candidate in June, whereas their support was around 48 percent in the March opinion poll.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of voters lacking a high school education said they would cast their ballots for the AKP’s Yıldırım, who was also largely supported by housewives.
However, support for İmamoğlu among housewives increased from 22 percent in March to 35 percent in the June survey.
While the AKP’s Yıldırım increased his support among “religious conservatives” from March to June, İmamoğlu garnered the support of one-fifth of the “pious” group, who constitute some 10 percent of İstanbul voters.
The opposition candidate received 62 percent support from Kurds and 87 percent from Alevis according to the June survey
Konda found that 14 percent of İstanbul voters do not use the Internet and that their support for Yıldırım increased between March and June.
Among Twitter users, support for İmamoğlu increased from 53 percent to 65 percent in June, while Facebook users resemble the overall İstanbul results, that is, 54 percent for İmamoğlu and 45 percent for Yıldırım.