Survey: 64 percent of Turks favor new constitution


An Optimar research company survey conducted last week found that 64 percent of respondents want a new constitution to replace the current one, which is a product of the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup. Optimar research company head and political communication expert Hilmi Daşdemir, commenting on the survey results, said: "As [Prime Minister] Binali Yıldırım's government received 315 votes from deputies and received a vote of confidence on Sunday in Parliament, Yıldırım's government also received a vote of confidence from the public."

The survey was conducted shortly after the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) second emergency convention on Sunday, with 508 participants. The survey results show that 49 percent of respondents support switching from the current parliamentary system to a presidential regime and 41 percent oppose the change. On this, Daşdemir said: "The survey is about one of the most controversial topics on the political agenda. According to the survey, support for a presidential system is nearly at 50 percent."

The result also shows that a majority of respondents favor a new constitution. Describing participants' opinions about a new constitution, Daşdemir said: "It is impossible to prevent the expectations of 64 percent of the people. [Republican People's Party Chairman Kemal] Kılıçdaroğlu says: ‘They have to oppress us first if they want to change the Constitution,' but it seems that if they insist on that, the public would oppress the opposition."

Concerning President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the presidency, according to the survey support for switching to a presidential system has risen from 49 percent to 51 percent. Daşdemir said: "Considering the Nov. 2, 2015 elections, the AK Party increased its popularity by 2 percent while the CHP remained between 24 and 26 percent. And the uncertainty of the HDP [Peoples' Democratic Party] and MHP [Nationalist Movement Party] passing the election threshold still continues."