According to a recent survey performed by MAK Consultancy, 70.5 percent of those polled believe that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been successful in tenure as the first elected president of the Republic of Turkey.
The survey conducted between Dec. 1-5 with the participation of 10,800 citizens in 17 cities, shows that if there were an election tomorrow, 48.5 percent would vote for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), while 23.1 would vote for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and 13.9 percent of votes would go to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). 4.3 percent of those surveyed stated that they would vote for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and 3.6 percent would vote for minor political parties.
As for the new Presidential Palace that is constantly brought up by the main opposition party, the people have had their final say in the matter. Of those who voted in the poll, 58.6 percent stated that the new Presidential Palace was, "necessary" and "beautiful."
Also, 65 percent of the people polled support the reconciliation process that has commenced between Ankara and the Kurds, beginning with AK Party initiatives to successfully end the decades-long conflict that began when the outlawed PKK took up arms against Turkey in the 1980s to create a separate state in southeastern Turkey.
Meanwhile, the AK Party made its 2015 national election strategy clear as there are only a few months left before the election. According to the strategy, the party's election rallies are expected to begin in Turkey's southeastern city of Hakkari in a symbolic move to show the importance of the reconciliation process. The main item on the agenda during the electoral campaign is the new constitution, and the lowering the age of candidacy to 18.
