Poll shows Turkish public longs for legal reform, new constitution

Many segments of society agree that the current Constitution falls short of meeting the demands of today’s Turkey. A full 69.8 percent of respondents said Turkey urgently needs a new constitution. Slightly more than 27 percent, however, disagreed.

The ruling AK Party vowed to introduce a new constitution when it first came to power in 2002, but it has failed to do so thus far, mainly due to strong resistance by opposition parties.

Asked whether they would vote in favor of judicial reforms if a referendum were held, 66 percent said yes. Twenty-seven percent, however, said they would vote against such reforms. Almost 51 percent of respondents said recent developments in the country had undermined their confidence in the judiciary, while 35.3 percent said recent developments had no impact on their confidence in the judiciary.

The judiciary was the center of harsh criticism last month after the HSYK stripped several prosecutors of their powers in a controversial move believed to be due to a probe they were conducting into a chief public prosecutor and an active duty general. The move was interpreted by most observers as interference in the judiciary by the judiciary itself.

According to a MetroPOLL survey, 78.7 percent of respondents said Turkey needs judicial reform, while another 69.8 percent said the country is in urgent need of a new constitution. Public does not want early elections, Andy-Ar finds A separate survey conducted by the Andy-Ar Center for Social Research has found that the Turkish public does not want to head to the ballot box for snap elections. Nearly 43 percent of respondents said they do not want early elections while 35.4 percent said they do. Opposition parties have long called on the AK Party government to hold early elections, but the ruling party has not paid heed to the calls thus far. The next parliamentary elections are slated for July 2011. Of the respondents, 71.3 percent voiced the country’s need for a new constitution, while only 11.4 percent opposed the drafting of a new constitution. Nearly 60 percent said Turkey urgently needs judicial reform, with 65.4 percent stressing that the judiciary is neither independent nor impartial in Turkey. More than 35 percent said they would vote for the AK Party if parliamentary elections were held next Sunday. Slightly more than 19 percent voiced support for the MHP while 17.8 percent would support the CHP. More than 6 percent said they would vote for the TDH and 5.1 percent said they would vote for the BDP. When asked about rising tension between some columnists and Prime Minister Erdoğan, 51.3 percent said the prime minister was wrong in his statements against media bosses and columnists. More than 38 percent, however, disagreed. Erdoğan frequently complains about the way some columnists write about his AK Party government and accuses them of provoking tension.

Two separate questions sought to find out whether respondents would like the existing Parliament to pass a judicial reform package and a new constitution. A full 62.3 percent said they would support the judicial reform efforts of the existing Parliament, and 57.3 percent said the same for a new constitution.

The respondents were also questioned about the judiciary’s independence and impartiality. More than 57 percent said they do not believe the Turkish judiciary is independent. Nearly 39 percent, on the other hand, said the judiciary is independent. Asked whether they believed the judicial bodies were impartial, 51.7 percent said no whereas 44.2 percent said yes.

When asked about interference by the government in judicial organs, 57.8 percent replied that they believed the government does interfere. Around 38 percent said the contrary. Asked whether they thought the General Staff interfered in the judiciary, 53.7 percent said no while 39.9 percent said yes.

Another question included in the poll was on recent statements by government officials regarding ongoing developments in the country. While 41.2 percent of respondents said they approve of those statements, 49.9 percent did not. A similar question was directed at poll participants on statements by members of the high judiciary. Almost 47 percent said they do not want members of the judiciary to make such statements, while 41.8 percent said they had a right to make such statements.

Public supports Sledgehammer detentions

The respondents were also questioned about the recent detentions of retired and active duty military personnel as part of an ongoing probe into a suspected Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) coup d’état plan titled Balyoz (Sledgehammer).

Some 58.5 percent of respondents said the detentions were normal, adding every citizen is liable to be called to account in a country governed by the rule of law. Thirty-eight percent, however, believe the detentions were aimed to weaken the armed forces.

In late February, nearly 70 members of the military were detained for suspected ties to the plot. More than 35 of them have been arrested on coup charges.

Asked whether a meeting between President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ could have had an impact on the release of former force commanders who were detained as part of the Sledgehammer operation, 64.7 percent of respondents said they thought it could have.

Former Air Forces Commander Gen. İbrahim Fırtına, former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Özden Örnek and retired Gen. Çetin Doğan were released pending trial after three days in custody late last month.

Slightly over half of respondents said the detention of high-ranking members of the armed forces as part of the Sledgehammer probe did not have an impact on their confidence in the military. More than 32 percent said they saw a decrease in their confidence in the military while 15.1 percent said they saw a boost in their confidence.

Asked whether the release of former force commanders was a political or judicial decision, 48.4 percent said it was political. Around 38 percent said it was judicial.

The poll also questioned participants about their voting behaviors. Asked which political party they would vote for if parliamentary elections were held today, 35.3 percent said they would vote for the AK Party. Some 15.5 percent said they would vote for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) while 11.6 percent said they would vote for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Nearly 5 percent said they would choose Şişli Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül’s Turkey Movement for Change (TDH), while 3.9 percent voiced support for the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). All these figure are likely to increase at the ballot box through the split of the vote of those who are undecided, which the survey shows to be more than 20 percent.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 26-27 by telephone on a random national sampling of 1,346 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The margin of error for the poll was 2.5 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95.