In the run up to the forthcoming general elections in June, polling companies are disclosing the results of their surveys as they try to predict the outcome of the elections posing to the participants the question: "If the elections were held today, which party would you vote for?" According to the overall results of some of the latest surveys, it can be deduced that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will receive more than 45 percent of the vote.Discussions of the possible results of the upcoming June 7 general elections mostly focus on two questions, one being whether the AK Party will gain enough seats in Parliament to lead as a single party, and the other whether the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which is vying to pass the 10 percent election threshold hurdle, will make it into Parliament. In order to form an opinion about what is expected in Turkey in the highly critical elections, the people resort to polling companies' predictions.According to a poll by the Objective Research Center (ORC) conducted between April 9 and April 13, 48.3 percent of participants chose the AK Party when asked who they would vote for if the general election were today. The closest rival to the AK Party in the poll's results was the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 23.7 percent of participants naming them as the party they would vote for. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) was the choice of 14.4 percent of participants and 8.9 percent chose the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which may be an indication that the party may fail to pass the 10 percent threshold.According to the latest survey conducted by the Denge polling company on March 30 with 5,000 participants in 25 provinces, the AK Party ranks first with support from 47 percent of respondents, HDP, was only supported by 8.8 percent of respondents. The same survey also shows the CHP with 26 percent of respondents' support – more or less the same proportion of the vote it virtually got during 2011 parliamentary elections – and the MHP will get 14.6 percent support. The pollster shows that the AK Party will receive enough votes to lead as a single party, although there will be a slight decline in the proportion of the votes compared to the 2011 general elections, in which it received 49.95 percent of the vote. According to the polling company GENAR's latest survey, which was conducted in February with the participation of 5,202 people from across Turkey, the AK Party received 47.7 percent of support from participants. The HDP, which is running in the elections as a party for the first time, as opposed to the 2011 general elections, in which independent candidates ran as deputies, is facing the risk of remaining under the threshold. GENAR survey found 8.9 percent of participants support the HDP, which is not enough to make it into Parliament.According to a Pollmark survey that was conducted among 5,000 participants back in January, the AK Party had 49.4 percent of respondents support, the CHP 23.5 percent, the MHP 15 percent and the HDP 8 percent.In a MAK consultancy poll, held between April 18 and April 25 in 38 metropolitan cities and 17 provinces with the participation of 5,400 voters, the AK Party received 45.15 percent support, the CHP 24.79 percent, the MHP 15.25 percent and the HDP remained under the threshold with 9.15 percent.Metropoll has predicted the lowest votes for the AK Party in its latest survey at 42.8 percent. The participants in the poll gave the CHP 27 percent support, the MHP 17.1 percent and the HDP 9.2 percent. As the general elections draw nearer, polling companies are unveiling the results of their surveys to make predictions. However, the reliability of the polls are questioned as some predictions are close to the actual rate of votes parties receive, but some fail to achieve correct predictions. This could depend on the fact that voters do not give truthful answers, or on whether they change their minds when they go to the ballot boxes to vote. There is also a possibility that some polling companies' techniques fail to reflect the pulse of society.There also remains an unsettling possibility that some polling companies use their survey to manipulate public opinion instead of trying to predict it.Taking into account the polling companies predictions of the results for the March 30, 2014 local elections, it would not be wrong to say the least erroneous guesses were delivered by the polling companies ORC, A&G and OPTIMAR. Assessing the results from the votes predicted for the AK Party, which received 43.4 percent of the vote countrywide, ORC had said the party would get 45.4 percent. A&G had predicted the AK Party would receive 43 percent, which was the most correct prediction, and OPTIMAR put forth that the party would receive 44.8 percent of the vote. Metropoll and the Cihan News agency's polling results, on the other hand, had showed that the AK Party would receive 36.3 percent and 36.4 percent, respectively.The two companies in question allegedly have close ties with the Gülen Movement, which is accused of attempting to topple the government by infiltrating key institutions, raising questions over possible manipulation in their surveys.Besides the pollsters, political analysts are delivering their opinions on whether the AK Party, even as the leading party, can receive enough votes to have 400 deputies in Parliament, a target that will pave the way for the party to change the Constitution and bring in a presidential system. The HDP, on the other hand, which entered the elections as a party – many believe taking a risk – is in pursuit of breaking the 10-percent election threshold. The HDP, which is also carrying out the reconciliation process the government launched in a bid to solve the Kurdish question, as a mediator, is building its election campaign to garner more votes from particular target sections of the electorate that are more likely to vote for them, making promises honing in on these specific sections. The HDP recently vowed to close the Directorate of Religious Affairs to appeal to the Alevi community, which is not willing to be attached to the body. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş also kicked off his election campaign in Berlin, where he called on the Kurdish-Turkish electorate to help the party pass the threshold. The CHP, on the other hand, is leaning on economic issues to attract voters. However, it is often criticized for making populist promises, and their ability to realize the promises has been called into question. The MHP, due to its nationalist ideology, has announced in its election manifesto that the reconciliation process would be halted if elected. It is believed to be increasing its votes compared to previous elections, as the rise of the HDP also triggered tensions in some circles that are expected to vote for the MHP in reaction to the HDP.