The recent survey conducted by the Ankara-based Objective Research Center (ORC) found that the overwhelming majority of participants support the comprehensive military operations against the PKK in the southeast of the country.
According to the ORC survey, which was conducted in 36 of Turkey's 81 provinces, 91.8 percent of participants support the ongoing military operations against the PKK terrorist organization. The survey also found that 90 percent of participants support the formation of a new constitution. Turkey's current constitution, which was accepted in 1982, despite several amendments in the recent years, still carries the traces of the Sept 12, 1980 coup. The results also indicated that public support for a new constitution rose in December compared to 84.4 percent support in November.
The survey further found that 63.5 percent of respondents indicated support for a presidential system, while 29.3 percent of respondents said it was not necessary to change from the country's current parliamentary system.
Responding to questions about their thoughts on incidents between Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013, 67 percent of the participants said that they would consider the incidents as "civilian coup attempts against the Turkish state." Between Dec.17 and Dec. 25, 2013 Gülenist police officers and persecutors attempted to overthrow the legitimate government under the guise of a corruption probe. The legal process for those involved in the operations is ongoing. As the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) received 49.48 percent of the vote of in the Nov. 1 elections, it can be seen that approximately half of respondents who support other parties also see these operations as a civilian coup against the government.
