Turks want post-coup attempt political thaw to continue: Poll

The survey by polling company Pollmark, conducted with 3,000 people across the country between Aug. 12 and Aug. 18, showed that 90.1 percent of Turks are happy with the warm relations between opposition parties, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and want a reconciliation process between the parties to continue. The supporters of reconciliation were 97 percent among AKP supporters and 84 percent among supporters of opposition parties. 

According to the same poll, 88.2 percent of Turks agreed that “the July 15 coup attempt was made by a group within the Turkish military linked to Fethullah Gülen,” the U.S.-based Islamic preacher whose followers are accused of masterminding the coup attempt.

Commenting on the poll results, AKP lawmaker Ertan Aydın, who also owns Pollmark, said Turkish citizens had heralded “the start of a new political era by stopping the coup attempt.”

“It is now essential to build a political code and social contract free of paranoia, in which all sides keep their cards open, no one bluffs anyone else, and everyone can express their thoughts and values in public without fear,” Aydın said. 

He added that this could be guaranteed by the preparation of a new constitution with broad participation and agreement.

Aydın said the fundamental message given by the citizens who took to the streets after July 15 was that “we no longer want secrets; everything should be done transparently.”

According to the poll, 49.7 percent of Turks participated in the anti-coup rallies after July 15, with 69 percent of those who participated being supporters of the ruling AKP and 30 percent supporting opposition parties.

Of those who took to the streets on the night of the coup attempt, 32.2 percent said they went out before Erdoğan made a call on CNN Türk via FaceTime, while his call was a decisive factor for 56.3 percent. Some 74.5 percent said they would be on the streets in protest in the event of another coup attempt. 

The poll also showed that one-third of Turks are still concerned about a possible coup attempt in the future. When asked if they thought another coup attempt could happen in the near future, 30.2 percent of respondents said “yes.” The respondents who were most concerned about another coup attempt were women and young people, according to the poll.

When asked about the “most dangerous armed or unarmed terror group Turkey is facing today,” 58.8 percent answered the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), followed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The suspensions and dismissals of civil servants over alleged links to the Gülen network are overwhelmingly supported by respondents, with 91.9 percent saying it was the right thing to do. 

Only 28.7 percent of the respondents said they have a “negative” opinion about Turkey’s future, while 60.3 percent said they expect things to get better.