Hakan Bayrakçı, the president of surveying company SONAR, admitted late Wednesday that he manipulated pre-election public polls due to intimidation and fear of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) officials and supporters.
Hakan Bayrakçı, a pollster critical of Erdoğan, says projected the victory of the incumbent president yet hesitated to reveal his true findings, adding that he would be "crucified" by the leader's opponents pic.twitter.com/BmhAIxsSvZ
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"I knew President [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan would win the election. But if I had said that, the CHP supporters would have crucified me," Bayrakçı said on a TV program.
On Sunday, the presidential and parliamentary elections saw the People's Alliance, which was formed by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), claim victory with 53.7 percent of the votes and Erdoğan with 52.6 percent.
On the other hand, the CHP and the Nation Alliance, which was formed between the CHP, the Good Party (İP), the Felicity Party (SP) and the Democrat Party (DP), garnered 33.9 percent of the vote.
Bayrakçı added that Erdoğan is a successful politician and still garners vast support from the people.