A survey shows 73 percent of Turks support the protests that erupted after the detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The survey, conducted March 24–25 by Konda Research and Consulting, measured public reaction to demonstrations that began with İmamoğlu’s March 19 detention and continued following his formal arrest.
The Konda poll shows 21 percent of respondents find the protests completely justified, while 52 percent believe they are justified if they don’t disrupt public order. Only 27 percent consider the protests unjustified.
Konda researchers shared a graph on X analyzing responses based on attitudes toward İmamoğlu’s detention.
Among those who support İmamoğlu’s detention, only 3 percent find the protests fully justified, 32 percent support non-disruptive protests and 65 percent oppose demonstrations entirely.
Among those who believe the detention was unjustified, 43 percent support protests unconditionally and 56 percent support them if they don’t disrupt public order.
Only 2 percent of this group opposes protests. For those with no opinion on the detention, 5 percent fully support protests, 65 percent back non-disruptive demonstrations and 30 percent oppose protests.
The Konda survey polled 1,535 people across Turkey.
Konda Research and Consulting, founded in 1986 by Tarhan Erdem, is one of Turkey’s leading polling organizations.
The company has published monthly “barometer” reports since 2010, surveying between 1,800 and 3,600 people on Turkish public opinion trends.
İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure and mayor of İstanbul from the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was detained March 19 in a dawn raid at his residence.
A court formally arrested him on Sunday and sent him to Marmara Prison near Istanbul’s Silivri district.
Thousands of people across Turkey have turned out for protests that have so far seen more than 1,800 people detained.
The protesters say İmamoğlu’s arrest is politically motivated, but the justice ministry insists on its judicial independence.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has labelled the demonstrations “street terror” and blamed the opposition for “disturbing the peace.”