Recent survey predicts majority support for upcoming constitutional referendum


According to a recent survey conducted by the polling company GENAR, more than 50 percent of the Turkish nation is in support of the upcoming referendum for the constitutional amendment package. Additionally, those voting in favor of the constitutional amendment package for the presidency system in the upcoming referendum are also expected to come from the supporters of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) as well as from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), according to the survey results.

According to the latest GENAR survey, the percentage of people in support of the constitutional amendment package was 55 percent, and 60 percent of participants voted in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the context of the upcoming referendum. Also, the Central Decision Executive Board of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) have reviewed the GENAR survey results and found more than 95 percent of AK Party voters – along with approximately half of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporters – are expected to say "yes" to the constitutional amendment.

Despite efforts to prevent the constitutional amendment package from being brought to a referendum, the latest survey results demonstrated that 10 percent of CHP's supporters tend to support the referendum on constitutional change compared to more than 4 percent of HDP voters.

Furthermore, speaking to Sabah daily, the founder of the Association for Liberal Thinking and Medipol University faculty member Atilla Yayla criticized the current parliamentary system and described the constitutional amendment that is on the agenda as a plus for Turkey, while also stating that he is in support of the constitutional amendment package that demands the removal of the bureaucratic tutelage. "I think that saying ‘not enough, but yes' to the amendment is a predominant voting pattern among liberals who advocate individual freedom," Yayla added.