Striking picture for Özgür Özel's 'New Party' in AREA's latest poll

A new phase has been reached in the ongoing absolute nullity crisis within the CHP. CHP's elected Chairman Özgür Özel announced in his speech at the parliamentary group meeting that he has parted ways with the CHP, where he served for 34 years, and that they will establish a New Party.

Nefes columnist Aytunç Erkin included the results of the public opinion survey conducted by AREA Research in his column today.

In the survey conducted between July 11-15, 2026, with 2,030 people aged 18 and over in 183 districts across all 81 provinces, taking into account the rural-urban divide, participants were asked, "Where should the new party be located on the political spectrum?"

EXPECTATIONS REGARDING THE POSITION OF THE NEW PARTY

According to the research, the participants' responses are as follows:

35.8 percent: Center-left

30.7 percent: Center

9.4 percent: Center-right

Evaluating the results, Aytunç Erkin stated, "This result shows that if Özel and his colleagues follow a line that brings the center-left and the center together, it is possible for them to achieve success. While 45.9 percent of citizens who would vote for Özgür Özel say 'center-left', 42.8 percent met on the answer of 'center'. This clearly shows us that those who support Özel are giving the following message: 'I approve of the establishment of an inclusive component with a social democratic/Six Arrows line.'"

HOW DOES THE ELECTORATE VIEW ÖZGÜR ÖZEL?

In the research, participants were also asked, "What is your opinion regarding Özgür Özel?"

Accordingly, 45.9 percent of the participants stated that they have a positive opinion about Özgür Özel.

Reminding in his article that the positive opinion rate for AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is 47.9 percent, Erkin stated, "At this point, the opinion regarding Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been governing the country for 22 years, is also '47.9 percent positive'. In other words, Özel has been rising since March 19 and is about to catch up with Erdoğan. Of course, it should also be added that the opinion regarding Mansur Yavaş is '60.6 percent'."

WHAT WOULD THE VOTE SHARES OF THE PARTIES BE IF AN ELECTION WERE HELD TODAY?

The responses given to AREA Research's question "Who would you vote for if an election were held today?" were listed as follows:

AKP: 34.2 percent

The party to be founded by Özgür Özel: 19.4 percent

CHP: 11.8 percent

DEM Party: 8.7 percent

MHP: 8.1 percent

İYİ Party: 6.0 percent

Zafer Party: 3.5 percent

Anahtar Party: 2.6 percent

TİP: 2.3 percent

Yeniden Refah Party: 2.1 percent

Other: 1.4 percent