Ruling AKP mayors in Istanbul, Ankara have support: Poll

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The AKP’s Istanbul Mayor Topbaş has support, survey shows.

As part of preparations for the upcoming local elections, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has surveyed the electorate in a “loyalty survey.” 

The survey, presented this week during a meeting of the AKP’s Central Executive Board, has shown that the AKP’s supporters are positive on the candidates up for re-election for current mayoral positions in some of Turkey’s largest cities: Melih Gökçek in Ankara, Kadir Topbaş in Istanbul, Tahir Akyürek in Konya, and Mehmet Özhaseki in Kayseri.

The survey also looked at the “voter loyalty” of the electorate. Twenty percent of Republican People’s Party (CHP) voters, 15 percent of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voters, 11 percent of Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters, and 9 percent of Peace and Democracy (BDP) supporters said they could vote for another party in the upcoming elections.

In terms of gender, the survey revealed that 56 percent of women and 46 percent of men voted for the AKP. The survey also claims that support for AKP is at 52 percent in Istanbul, while support for the CHP is at 29 percent.