An overwhelming majority of Turks think corruption in the country has become more widespread over the past five years, according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by the Ankara-based MetroPOLL.
While 60.1 percent of Turks thought corruption was on the rise in Turkey in 2015, this figure rose to 73.3 percent in 2021, according to the results of the survey announced on July 31. People who did not think corruption was on the rise in 2015 came in at 31.5 percent but comprised 22.1 percent in 2021.
In December 2013 Turkey was shaken by the revelation of two corruption investigations, on Dec. 17 and 25, in which the inner circle of then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were implicated.
After Erdoğan cast the investigations as a coup attempt to overthrow his government orchestrated by his political enemies, namely the Gülen movement inspired by the views of Fethullah Gülen, the prosecutors and judges were removed from the case, police were reassigned and the corruption investigations were dropped. Later, the police officers, judges and prosecutors who took part in the investigations were all jailed.
When respondents were asked whether they think corruption has increased in Turkey over the past year, 95.9 percent of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) voters said yes, followed by Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters. Only 49.3 percent of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters think corruption has been on the rise in Turkey over the past year, while 44.2 percent think the opposite.