'Nationalist votes' leave their mark on presidential poll

Journalist and author Aytunç Erkin discussed the results of the "Turkey's Nationalism Map" research, conducted by the Institute for Social Studies with 2,017 people, in his column. Stating that the report also includes data on what kind of picture Mansur Yavaş, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Özgür Özel might create in a potential race against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the presidential election, Erkin said, "It is understood from the report that 'nationalist votes' will be decisive in the 2028 or potential November/December 2027 presidential/parliamentary elections."

Aytunç Erkin conveyed the findings that stand out in the report with the following words:

73 PERCENT OF CHP VOTERS ARE NATIONALIST

"According to the results of the study, which has national representation capability, 73.4 percent of Turkey defines themselves as 'very nationalist' and 'nationalist.' 76.2 percent of those who vote for the AK Party, 73 percent of those who vote for the CHP, 95.3 percent of those who vote for the MHP, 85.9 percent of IYI Party supporters, and 98.2 percent of Zafer Party supporters define themselves as nationalist."

34.2 PERCENT DEFINE THEMSELVES AS ATATÜRKIST

"There is a significant increase in the rate of those who state they are nationalist as education level and age increase. 34.2 percent of the participants, who were asked to define themselves politically, state that they are Atatürkist, and 25.4 percent state they are Turkish nationalist. 3 of the 5 most preferred political views consist of different forms of nationalism. If the 5.4 percent rate of Idealists (Ülkücüler) is also added, it is understood that the political view of 2 out of every 3 people in Turkey is based on nationalism. When nationalists with other political views are added, this rate reaches the 73.4 percent mentioned above, that is, a volume covering almost 3 out of every 4 people."

It is understood from the report that; "nationalist votes" will be decisive in the 2028 or potential November/December 2027 presidential/parliamentary elections.

Another part of the report is striking:

"84.7 percent of the participants oppose the view that (the concept of Turkishness should be removed from the Constitution). This rate is 82.7 percent among AK Party voters and 89.3 percent in the CHP. 93 percent of Turkish nationalists, 89.5 percent of Atatürkists, and 63.6 percent of Islamists stated that they are against the removal of the concept of Turkishness from the Constitution."

From this, it is possible to reach the following conclusion: It is clear that parties that remove or attempt to remove the concept of "Turkishness" and support this will face problems!

The report also asked about a potential race between Mansur Yavaş, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Özgür Özel against AKP leader Tayyip Erdoğan.

Let's read:

"It is seen that among the potential candidates of the opposition in the first round of the upcoming presidential election, only Mansur Yavaş can place ahead of Tayyip Erdoğan, who has a 38.7 percent vote share, with 43.4 percent in the first round."

In İmamoğlu's candidacy, within the margin of error, he receives almost the same vote as Erdoğan (Erdoğan 42.6 percent, İmamoğlu 40.3 percent).

In Özgür Özel's candidacy, Erdoğan receives 47.9 percent and Özgür Özel receives 35.7 percent in the first round.

In a second-round election where Erdoğan and Yavaş compete, the result is as follows:

Mansur Yavaş 47.9 percent

Erdoğan 43.2 percent

Erdoğan receives the votes of 54.3 percent of Turkish nationalists, 77.1 percent of conservatives, 69.1 percent of Islamists, and 64.1 percent of Idealists.

Yavaş, on the other hand, appears to have the support of 73.4 percent of Atatürkists, 64.4 percent of social democrats, and 58 percent of socialists.