Survey: Canal İstanbul, Unemployment Make AKP Lose Support

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Themis Research Company has announced the results of the survey conducted in February.

The survey was conducted with 1,925 participants in nine cities in various parts of the country: Erzurum, Antep, İstanbul, Ankara, Bursa, Antalya, İzmir, Adana and Urfa.

When asked, "If there was an election today, which party would you vote for?" 20.7 percent of the participants stated they would vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) followed it with 16 percent.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of the AKP, received the support of 5.5 percent of the participants. The voting share of the İYİ (Good) Party, an MHP offshoot, was 4.0 percent. Only 0.4 percent of the participants said they would vote for the Future Party, which was founded in December by former PM and AKP Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu.

Undecided voters

The share of "undecided" participants was higher than any political party with 28 percent. In addition, 10.9 percent of the participants said they would not vote in the election and 6.5 percent chose not to respond to the question.

The survey report stated that the main reasons for the decrease in the AKP votes are the Canal İstanbul, a planned artificial waterway to connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, economic policies, Syria policies, unemployment and retirement policies, which prevents some six million people from receiving retirement salaries because of not reaching a specified age.

What are the most severe problems?

According to the participants, the high cost of living is the most important problem of the country. It was followed by Syrian refugees, education, justice and unemployment.

While 78 percent of the participants said they are not pleased in terms of economy, 22 percent stated that they are comfortable. Fifty-five percent of the participants said they are indebted.

İstanbul mayor is the most trustworthy politician

In terms of trustworthiness, President and AKP Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan trailed the mayors of İstanbul and the capital Ankara, both of whom are from the CHP.

The survey found İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is the most trustworthy politician as 48.88 percent of the participants said they trust him. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş followed him with 46.93 percent. The trustworthiness rating of Erdoğan was 41.88 percent. (RT/VK)