 remains ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in voter support, while the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has seen a notable decline, according to a new survey.){kind=link}
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) remains ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in voter support, while the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has seen a notable decline, according to a new survey.
The poll, conducted by the İstanbul-based Gündemar research company between March 23 and 26 on 2,200 participants, asked voters, “Which political party would you vote for if a general election were to be held this Sunday?”
According to the findings, after undecided voters, those with no opinion, and protest votes were distributed proportionally, the CHP received 33.37 percent, maintaining its lead over the AKP, which stood at 29.16 percent.
The DEM Party ranked third with 7.94 percent. The far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a key ally of the AKP, stood at 6.30 percent, while the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party received 5.49 percent.
The far-right, anti-refugee Victory Party (ZP) followed with 5.47 percent, while the Key Party (A Party) received 4.74 percent and the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) stood at 3.43 percent. Smaller parties accounted for 2.82 percent, and the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) was assessed at 1.28 percent.
Compared to February, the CHP increased its support by 0.65 percentage points, while the AKP dropped by 0.69 points. The DEM Party also declined by 0.89 points, whereas the MHP and İYİ Party recorded gains of 0.99 and 0.95 points, respectively.
The findings come at a time of heightened political tension, with the opposition continuing to press for early elections while facing mounting legal pressure.
Turkey’s main opposition has recently outlined a strategy aimed at forcing early elections through parliamentary and municipal maneuvers, arguing that the government is avoiding an election despite shifting voter sentiment.
The poll also comes amid an expanding legal campaign against the CHP following its gains in the March 2024 local elections, when the party won control of many major cities and handed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP one of its worst municipal defeats in years. Since October 2024 opposition mayors and municipal officials have faced a series of corruption and terrorism-related investigations that critics say are politically motivated.
Within the CHP, there is growing concern that the crackdown could expand beyond municipalities to target senior party figures, including Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and the party leadership.
Yavaş, a senior figure in the CHP who was re-elected in 2024 with more than 60 percent of the vote, is widely seen as a potential alternative presidential contender if İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently behind bars, is barred from running.
İmamoğlu was detained on March 19, a move that triggered large-scale protests across Turkey and coincided with turbulence in financial markets, deepening concerns about political pressure on the opposition.
The decline in support for the DEM Party coincides with developments in the Kurdish peace process, which have introduced new political uncertainty.
Jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) founder Abdullah Öcalan has called for a way to address the Turkish public directly, saying his views on the ongoing peace initiative need to reach a wider audience as the process enters what Kurdish political actors describe as a critical phase.
In a message delivered after a March 27 prison visit, Öcalan said the period of armed conflict was over and urged authorities to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the next stage of the process.
The initiative has increasingly shifted from calls for the laying down of arms to demands for legal and political guarantees, with a parliamentary roadmap linking reforms to the PKK disarming marking one of the most concrete steps in years toward ending the decades-long conflict.
However, tensions persist. During Nevruz celebrations this month, Kurdish political figures and allied groups called for concrete democratic steps, including compliance with top court rulings and an end to the removal of elected mayors, while authorities detained scores of people in operations linked to the celebrations on allegations related to PKK propaganda.