Research conducted on youth participating in İmamoğlu protests: Majority are Atatürkist and nationalist

Young people have been a notable presence in the protests that began after Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained in a dawn operation on March 19 and subsequently arrested on corruption charges on March 23. Among those detained and arrested during the protests are individuals between the ages of 18 and 22.

According to reports by Sözcü, the Institute for Social Studies conducted face-to-face interviews during the demonstrations with 208 young people who gathered in Ankara's Kızılay Square between 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM on March 24-25-26, 2025, and who had been participating in the protests that began with Ekrem İmamoğlu's detention on March 19, 2025.

According to the research results, it was determined that the vast majority of the young people participating in the protests are Atatürkist and nationalist. When asked, "What are the two most important reasons that motivate you to participate in these actions?" the youth responded with "Anxiety about the future" and "The government's anti-democratic practices."

According to the research, the protesters consist of a group that is demographically much younger and more highly educated compared to the general population of Turkey. Furthermore, the protesters differ significantly from Turkey's national averages not only demographically but also in terms of socio-economic status, political demands, and attitudes.

According to the study, which notes that "we may be facing the youngest profile of protesters in the country's history," this group, which has an extremely low level of economic satisfaction, believes that Turkey will be a better place in the long run and states that the realization of this depends on them as the public.

YOUTH BELIEVE TURKEY'S BIGGEST PROBLEM IS JUSTICE

Within the scope of the study, when young people were asked, "What do you think is the most important problem that Turkey needs to solve?" 54.3 percent of the participants answered "Justice."

ATATÜRKIST AND NATIONALIST YOUTH FORM THE MAJORITY

One of the striking data points in the research is that the vast majority of the youth are Atatürkist and nationalist. Accordingly, when participants were asked, "Which of the following political ideologies do you feel closest to?" 55.6 percent answered "Atatürkist" and 16.9 percent answered "Nationalist."

MANSUR YAVAŞ OR İMAMOĞLU?

 To the question, "Who would you vote for in the upcoming Presidential elections?"

49.5 percent answered "Ekrem İmamoğlu," 39.8 percent answered "Mansur Yavaş," and

2.9 percent answered "Selahattin Demirtaş." There were no participants who answered "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan."