Most Turks believe necessary security measures not taken before Ankara blasts: Survey

ISTANBUL

Thousands of protesters take part in a march against the deadly attack earlier in Ankara on October 10, 2015 at the Istiklal avenue in Istanbul. AFP photo

More than half of Turkish voters think the Turkish government did not take necessary and pre-emptive security measures at the site of a peace rally, where deadly Ankara blasts killed at least 102 civilians and wounded hundreds of others on Oct. 10, a recent survey of public opinion on politics shows.

Some 58.6 percent of voters think the government fell short on taking pre-emptive security measures ahead of the Ankara blasts, according to the survey, which was conducted on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 with a sample of 4,864 voters living in 36 provinces across Turkey by Gezici Research, a research company with accurate predictions for Turkey’s past three elections.

Some 13.9 percent have no idea if the Turkish administration should have taken pre-emptive security measures ahead of the peace rally, which was expected to be held by tens of thousands of civilians at the heart of the Turkish capital.

The survey, consisting of questions for more than 4,500 respondents above the age 18 who are Turkish voters in the upcoming Nov. 1 election, tries also to illustrate Turkish public opinion on trending topics in Turkey, such as the deadly Ankara bombing.

Some 24.9 of Turkish voters think the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was behind the deadly Oct. 10 Ankara blasts, while 10.5 percent say the Justice and Development Party (AKP) was responsible for the blasts and 10.6 percent of them saying Erdoğan was behind it.

Less than 28 percent of Turkish voters think the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is behind the blasts, while 10.1 percent of them think the attack was carried out by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Two-thirds of voters fear Erdoğan

The survey shows nearly 70 percent of Turkish voters fear President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan because of his rough and harsh statements.

Some 68.4 percent of voters in Turkey are scared of Erdoğan, expressing their reservations over Erdoğan’s stern reactions, speeches and statements.

The survey shows that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu arouses pessimism and uneasiness among 64.8 percent of the voters.

At least 7 percent of respondents were indecisive when asked if Davutoğlu aroused pessimism and uncomfortableness in them. 

The survey shows 56.9 percent see PKK terrorism as the most problematic issue in the country, while around 50 percent of them think the most important problem in Turkey is unemployment.

On the list of Turkey’s most critical problems, the survey shows 22.1 percent of survey respondents say corruption is the most problematic issue in the country, which has recently seen mass corruption investigations that implicated the sons of four former ministers during Erdoğan’s prime ministry.