Latest poll asks about the possibility of 'Erdoğan's presidency for life'! A striking detail regarding İmamoğlu...

Following the call by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli that initiated a new reconciliation process—which the government has dubbed a "Terror-Free Turkey"—and the subsequent announcement by the terrorist organization PKK regarding laying down arms and dissolution, a new constitution has been brought to Turkey's agenda.

Although AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in his call to the CHP regarding the new constitution, "We do not want a new constitution for ourselves, but for our country. I have no concern about being re-elected or being a candidate again," MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli once again expressed his support for Erdoğan's candidacy, stating, "A President whose concern is the homeland and the nation has no right to turn back from his path. In our view, this is not a fair and equitable declaration of intent."

While the People's Alliance seeks to provide a legal basis for Erdoğan's re-candidacy through a new constitution, the Institute for Social Studies shared the results of its public opinion survey titled "Turkey Voter Trends Survey."

In the survey, participants were asked questions about "Early elections," "How do you evaluate the possibility of Erdoğan serving as president for life?", "Why do you think Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested?" and "Will İmamoğlu be able to get out of prison within the next year?"

While the rate of those wanting early elections was 52 percent, a large majority evaluated the arrest of the CHP's presidential candidate, the dismissed President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, as "political."

The responses given regarding the reason for İmamoğlu's arrest were as follows:

Due to corruption and terrorism: 38 percent

Because he is a presidential candidate: 47.2 percent

I don't know/No answer: 14.8 percent

To the question, "Will Ekrem İmamoğlu be able to get out of prison within the next year?", 39.6 percent answered "no," 21.9 percent "yes," 23.9 percent "maybe," and 14.6 percent said "I don't know."

The rate of those who gave "negative" and "very negative" answers to the question of Erdoğan's "How do you evaluate the possibility of serving as president for life?" was 70 percent. It was noted that the rate of those who expressed a negative opinion against a presidency for life among those who define themselves as "conservative" and "Islamist" was in the 50 percent band.

Regarding the research, the Institute assessed: "In 2 of the 4 national public opinion surveys conducted by the Institute for Social Studies in the last 9 months, the CHP stood out as the party with the most voter support, while the AKP did so in the other 2. In 3 of our 4 public opinion surveys, the difference between the two parties was within or near the study's margin of error (+/- 2.5%). While this situation continues, we see a change in the lead in favor of the AKP. When undecided voters are distributed, the AKP is in first place with 32.3%, and the CHP is in second place with 30.5%. In our previous national survey in January 2025, the CHP was 0.5 points ahead of the AKP. We can say that in the last 9 months, Turkey has clearly stabilized into a political atmosphere with two major parties with equal social support in terms of general election preferences."