The 'None' alarm...

The research conducted by ASAL Araştırma between August 5-10, 2026, across 26 provinces in Turkey with 2,000 people aged 18 and over, contains figures that are far too significant to be simply brushed aside.

At least, for those who want to see and read them...

The most important result of the research is not that the AKP is at 33.4%, the Yeni Parti at 21.2%, the DEM Parti at 9.5%, the CHP at 9.2%, or the MHP at 8.5%.

The truly striking figure is 39.5%.

This is the rate of the "None" response given to the question, "Which political party can solve Turkey's problems today?"

This is the figure that must be focused on.

Because this points to a much larger issue than ordinary dissatisfaction with any particular party.

The voter is not just saying,

"I do not trust the AKP."

They are not saying, "I trust the Yeni Parti or the CHP" either.

Nor are they saying, "Another party will emerge, and I will look at them."

Almost four out of every ten voters say they do not see any political party capable of solving Turkey's problems.

Let us name it:

This is a crisis of confidence in politics.

Let us go even further.

This is not just a crisis of confidence; it is also a crisis of representation.

Because the question in the citizen's mind has moved beyond "Which party?" to the next level: "Which party will actually solve my problem?"

The answer given is extremely grave for politics:

None of them!

Moreover, this result is not new.

It was observed in previous ASAL studies that the "None" response reached high levels.

For example, in March 2025, this rate was reported as 38.3%.

This means there is no one-day reaction here.

Nor is it a temporary anger directed at a political party, a leader, or a specific agenda item...

A deeper, persistent feeling that "politics cannot solve it" has formed among the people of our country.

That is what is dangerous!

Because in democracies, the belief in politics' capacity to solve problems is just as important as the citizen's hope of changing the government.

If a citizen can say, "These will go, others will come, and things will change," it means the system is working.

But if the citizen has reached the point of saying, "No matter who comes, my life will not change," the issue is far beyond the election result.

Furthermore, other results from the same research make this picture even more meaningful.

The most important problem in Turkey is the economy and the cost of living, at 61.5%.

In second place is the justice and legal system, at 11%.

Education is at 4.1%.

Unemployment and employment are at 4%.

Pensions and the minimum wage are at 3.2%.

Moral decay is at 2%.

Migration and the refugee issue are at 1.8%.

Terrorism is at 1.5%.

Security and public order are at 1.4%.

The Kurdish issue is at 1.2%.

Now let us look at these figures more carefully.

61.5%!

More than six out of every ten people in Turkey see the country's most important problem as the economy and the cost of living. The vast majority of our people are living at the hunger threshold; the situation of minimum wage earners and retirees is dire.

Moreover, the rate for the justice and legal system in second place is less than one-fifth of that.

This actually tells us about the society's agenda.

The citizen's priority is very clear:

To be able to feed themselves, to make ends meet.

To be able to pay their rent.

To be able to fill their basket when they go to the market.

To be able to cover their child's education expenses.

If they are a retiree, to be able to make it to the end of the month.

If they are working, to ensure their salary lasts until the end of the month.

To be able to make a plan for the future.

Along with all of this, to be able to feel safe in the face of justice when they seek their rights...

So, what is the agenda of politics?

This is where the part of the research that really needs to be questioned begins. A serious distance has formed between the citizen's agenda and the political agenda. Politics is conducting its own debates. The citizen, meanwhile, is trying to save their own life.

While politics tries to impose its own agenda on society, the citizen looks on, asking, "Who will tell my story?"

There is another striking figure:

Undecided voters are at 32.6%.

It would be a great oversimplification to explain this rate only by saying, "The voter has not yet made up their mind." Of course, there are people within this group who truly have not decided which party to vote for.

However, reading such an extraordinarily high rate of 32.6% only through the lens of election preference remains incomplete. Because indecision is not just the lack of an answer to the question, "Who will I vote for?" Most of the time, it means, "I no longer believe what you are saying."

Sometimes, it means, "Your promises have no equivalent in my life."

Sometimes, it is the feeling that, "No matter who comes, nothing will change."

And sometimes, it means, "I do not see a political address that describes my life."

This is exactly why the picture that emerges when the 39.5% "None" and the 32.6% indecision are placed side by side is important.

It would, of course, not be correct to add these two rates together mathematically; however, when read together as two separate indicators of political behavior in the same society, they reveal the scale of the representation and confidence crisis in politics.

On one side, those who say, "No party can solve it..."

On the other side, those who say, "I don't know which party I will vote for..."

In short:

The voter is not just having trouble choosing a party; they are having trouble trusting politics itself.

Another point that draws attention in the research is that the Kurdish issue remains at 1.2%.

We see that in the citizen's priority ranking, this issue is far behind the economy, justice, education, and employment.

In other words, no matter how much politics magnifies an issue, the fire in the citizen's pocket determines their agenda.

From here, we come to a more important point regarding the future of democracy.

Democracy is not just going to the ballot box and casting a vote.

Democracy is also the citizen carrying the feeling that, "My vote can change something."

If the voter does not trust the options when going to the ballot box...

If they believe that none of the options can solve their problems...

If they think that what politicians say has no reflection in their life...

It is not just political parties that start to sound the alarm there, but the political system itself.

Because what keeps democracy alive is not just the vote.

It is the hope of voting.

More importantly, it is the belief that when you vote, your life can change.

Let us end our article by saying that this is why the 39.5% "None" is an alarm that must be addressed.