Latest poll shows strong support for presidential system

As the Parliament's Constitution Conciliation Committee began talks on Thursday to establish a new constitution and discuss transitioning the country from a parliamentary to presidential system of government, the Ankara-based Objective Research Center (ORC) published the results of a public survey that revealed 56.1 percent of participants interviewed support the presidential system.

The survey's administrators held face-to-face interviews with 8,329 participants from 30 provinces between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. It also found that support for the ruling Justice and Development (AK Party) stands at 52.4 percent.

Of the survey respondents, 51 percent of those who voiced support for the presidential system said they believed it will further enhance Turkey's power, while 62.4 percent of those against indicated they opposed the system because they did not want current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to become the head of state.

In addition, while the survey showed strong support for the AK Party, it revealed that only 19.6 percent support the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and 10.6 percent support the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). As for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), it remained under the parliamentary threshold, with 9.2 percent, according to the ORC survey.