The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been ruling Turkey as a single-party government since 2002, would have had a decreased nationwide vote of 32.2 percent, while support for the main opposition would have slightly edged up, if a general election were to have been held in April, according to a public opinion survey conducted by ASAL research.
Bu Pazar bir milletvekili seçimi olsa hangi siyasi partiye oy verirsiniz?
▪️AK Parti:%32.2
▪️CHP:%26.5
▪️MHP:%9.8
▪️DEM Parti:%9.1
▪️İYİ Parti:%5.6
▪️Yeniden Refah:%4.5
▪️Zafer Partisi:%4.2
▪️Türkiye İşçi Partisi:%2.6
▪️Diğer:%5.5*Kararsızlar/Oy Kullanmayacağım/Fikrim… pic.twitter.com/9bvvIgoHHP
— Asal Araştırma (@AsalArastirma) April 23, 2024
The AKP received 36.3 percent of the vote, while the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) garnered 25.8 percent in the most recent general election held in May 2023.
The results of the survey, which was conducted on 2,000 people in 26 provinces across Turkey on April 20-21, also showed that support for the CHP would have increased to 26.5 percent.
The AKP’s far-right ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would have received 9.8 percent in an April election, followed by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) (9.1 percent), the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party (5.6 percent), the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) (4.5 percent), the far-right and anti-refugee Victory Party (ZP) (4.2 percent) and the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) (2.6 percent).
The survey comes after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP suffered its worst election defeat since coming to power two decades ago in the March 31 local polls, where the CHP emerged as the country’s leading party after decades out of power, triggering discussions of an early general election. The next general election in Turkey is scheduled for 2028.
The CHP garnered 37.7 percent of the vote, maintained control of key cities and secured substantial gains in other regions in the March elections, while the AKP, for the first time in 22 years, came in second, garnering only 35.4 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, CHP leader Özgür Özel said during a program on NOW TV on Monday that he would not initiate discussions for an early general election as a result of the new political balance that emerged after the March elections.
“However, if the people demand early elections, then on that day, I will also say ‘[Let’s have] early elections.’ … If things continue like this, early elections could be imminent,” he added.