Survey: 92 percent of supporters say CHP will not gain power

A survey conducted by the Ankara-based Objective Research Center (ORC) revealed that 92.4 percent of Republican People's Party (CHP) supporters believed the CHP would not be the ruling party after the upcoming national elections to be held on June 7 while 3.5 percent believed it would be. Of those surveyed 4.1 percent refrained from answering the question.

Including 2,000 people who voted for the CHP in the last national election held in 2011, the survey gave clues as the main opposition party tries to step up its efforts to become the ruling party in the next years.

Of those who believed that the CHP would not be the ruling party, 73.3 percent said that the main opposition would not be able to garner more than 25 percent of the vote in the upcoming elections while only 26.7 percent of those who believed that the CHP would not be the ruling party said that the party's vote would be more than 25 percent.

In the 2011 national election the CHP received 25.9 percent of the vote.

In response to the question of whether they find CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu successful, 71.6 percent asserted that Kılıçdaroğlu is not successful in his chairmanship post while 28.4 percent said he is successful.

Following the huge disappointment the party saw in both the March 30 local elections and the presidential election held in August 10, the CHP has experienced internal conflict as party dissidents have raised their voices against Kılıçdaroğlu. The party, with a move to stifle dissidents, held its 18th extraordinary party congress to elect the party chairman and Kılıçdaroğlu was re-elected by obtaining 741 of the votes cast.

Of those surveyed 68.5 percent who think that the CHP would receive less than 25 percent of the vote believed that the CHP should change its leader, while 31.5 percent said the party should not change its leadership.

When the survey asked those who did not believe the party would come to power if they would change their voting or continue to vote for the CHP, 65.2 percent said that they would still vote for the CHP even though they believe the party would not come to power and they thought that the party should change its leadership.

Having trouble with elections and convincing voters who do not vote for the CHP, the party administration has been exerting efforts to change the party's image, but dissidents in the party continue to raise their voices against the party and put forward allegations that the party deems to be "black propaganda." With only months left until the national elections, four CHP members were referred to the disciplinary committee and one member resigned and established her own party.