According to the results of a recent opinion poll, 27.7 percent of voters said they will never vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party coming in second with 27 percent of voters refusing to support it, the Kronos news website reported on Wednesday.
A total of 12.1 percent of voters said they would never support the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the May 2021 MetroPOLL survey, the results of which were announced by its owner Özer Sencar on Twitter.
The survey found voter resistance to the İYİ (Good) Party the lowest, implying that the party appeals to voters from diverse parties.
HDP supporters, whose voting behavior will be critical in the next presidential election, show the greatest resistance to the AKP, with 50.6 percent, followed by 17.1 percent of HDP supporters refusing to vote for AKP ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). On the other hand, 63.3 percent of MHP voters say they will never vote for the HDP.
Another striking result of the survey was that 52.2 percent of Future Party (GP) voters said they would never support the HDP, coming in after MHP voters. İYİ voters’ resistance to the HDP came third with 35.8 percent, followed by supporters of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) with 26.7 percent.
The survey results were announced at a time when HDP Co-chair Pervin Buldan said in a speech at a community meeting in Gaziantep on Wednesday that no one should take the HDP’s support for granted.
Addressing “both sides,” apparently referring to the Public and Nation alliances, Buldan said any alliance must resolve the “Kurdish issue” in order to come to power.
“We are not obliged to [support] anyone. But if you want this country’s democracy to improve, than you have to take the HDP and Kurds as a basis,” Buldan said.
Referring to the critical role the HDP played in the Nation Alliance’s recent election successes, Buldan said: “The democratic coalitions we lent support to in the last elections, particularly in the municipal elections in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Mersin and Antalya, were indeed important and valuable. Yet no one should expect the same attitude in the next elections. Everyone should now know we will not exhibit the same attitude.”
Buldan’s remarks were seen not only as a warning to the Nation Alliance of the CHP, İYİ and the Felicity Party (SP), but also as sending a warm message to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Public Alliance.
The HDP may choose to take a third way, supporting its own presidential candidate in the first round of the election, upping the ante for the second round.
While not an official member, the HDP is providing external support to the Nation Alliance. The pro-Kurdish party’s support proved particularly pivotal during the most recent municipal elections.