An overwhelming majority of Turks, 72 percent, feel that Turkey lacks an effective opposition, with the sentiment particularly strong among voters of the country’s largest opposition parties, according to a recent opinion poll.
The results of Metropoll’s “Turkey’s Pulse” survey for September were announced on Tuesday on X by Professor Özer Sencar, the owner of the company.
Eylül araştırmasının en ilginç sorularından birisi. pic.twitter.com/Aw3eTmuJ8X
— Ozer Sencar (@ozersencar1) October 1, 2024
The survey participants were asked, “Do you think there is a void in political opposition in Turkey?”—a question Sencar described as one of the “most interesting” in the firm’s September poll.
The results showed the highest levels of dissatisfaction among supporters of the opposition parties, with 81.4 percent of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) supporters, 75 percent of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters and 75 percent of nationalist İYİ (Good) Party voters answering “yes.”
Conversely, 23.1 percent of respondents felt there was no opposition void. Among CHP voters, 21.1 percent believed there was no such gap, while this sentiment was shared by 26.2 percent of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters, 26 percent of the voters of its far-right ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and 23.9 percent of İYİ supporters. Only 14.8 percent of DEM Party voters believed there was no opposition void.
The results come amid growing criticism of CHP leader Özgür Özel for allegedly aligning with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP government, including covering up its alleged corruption.
Although the CHP came in first in the March 31 local elections, Özel, who was elected party leader last November, has been moderate in his criticism of the AKP government. Under the pretext of normalization in Turkish politics, Özel and Erdoğan paid visits to each other and avoided any harsh criticism, with detractors accusing Özel of yielding to Erdoğan.
Critics have long been accusing the CHP of doing politics within the boundaries set by Erdoğan and failing to put up strong resistance that could challenge the president’s government. They say the lack of effective opposition in the country is one of the main reasons for the country’s persistent problems in its management of the economy and the backsliding in democracy and human rights.