Newsletters
A recent political poll conducted by the Society Studies Institute reveals significant public dissatisfaction with Türkiye's current governance due to economic dissatisfaction while spotlighting two prominent figures: Selcuk Bayraktar and Ekrem Imamoglu in a scenario where President Erdogan does not run again for presidency.
The survey, carried out on December 27–28 with 1,500 participants, indicates that 62.9% of respondents believe the country is being governed "poorly" or "very poorly," marking a five-point increase from three months ago.
37.1% expressed satisfaction with the current administration.
The survey highlights public approval of Türkiye's recent Syria policy following the downfall of the Assad regime. Among ruling party voters, 77.4% of AK Party supporters and 73.2% of MHP supporters view the policy as successful.
However, this approval has not been sufficient to address economic frustrations. A significant 85.4% of participants consider the newly announced 2025 minimum wage of ?22,104 lira ($624) inadequate.
Even among AK Party supporters, 77.9% share this sentiment.
One of the most striking findings is the performance of Selcuk Bayraktar in a hypothetical three-way presidential election scenario against Mansur Yavas and Ekrem Imamoglu. Bayraktar leads with 34.3%, followed by Yavas at 29.5% and Imamoglu at 27.8%.
Bayraktar enjoys significant support from AK Party (62.4%), MHP (65.1%), and New Welfare Party (39.9%) voters.
In another scenario where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is included without Bayraktar, Erdogan leads with 34.2%, followed by Yavas at 30.3% and Imamoglu at 28.3%.
When Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is added to the mix, he emerges as the leading candidate with 36.3%, followed by Yavas (28.9%) and Imamoglu (26.9%).
The survey also sheds light on public opinion regarding the legal cases against Ekrem Imamoglu, Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Two-thirds of respondents believe Imamoglu should not face a political ban, with 66.5% opposing such measures and only 22% supporting them.
Even among AK Party voters, 43% oppose a political ban on Imamoglu, while this figure rises to 51% among MHP voters.
When undecided voters are distributed, the survey places the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the lead with 31.3%, narrowly edging out the ruling AK Party at 30.8%.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) follows with 10.9%, while the Peoples' Equality and Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) holds 8.4%. The Victory Party and the Good Party (IYI Party) each secure 4%, with the New Welfare Party trailing at 3.4%.
Within CHP ranks, 65% of voters view party leader Ozgur Ozel's performance positively, while 29% consider his leadership unsuccessful.
5 min read
5 min read
