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Majority backs reform package, opinion poll reveals
Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they think Turkey needs a civilian constitution, while only 20 percent said Turkey does not need a civilian constitution. The participants of the survey were asked about the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) constitutional reform package, which was made public yesterday.
The government wants to pass constitutional amendments to restructure the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and the Constitutional Court. Its aim is to ensure a more democratic selection and promotion process in the higher judiciary, which would be open to parliamentary review.
In the survey, 41.5 percent of respondents said they would say “yes” to the government’s constitutional reform package if it goes to referendum, while 28.2 percent said they would decide according to the content of the package. Only 13.8 percent stated that they would say “no” to the package in a possible referendum, while 16.8 percent said they have no idea. These figures suggest that more than 50 percent of the people support the reform package.
It seems that an ongoing investigation into Ergenekon, a shadowy crime network that has alleged links within the state and is suspected of plotting to topple the government, as well as recently uncovered military actions plans, which include subversive plots to trigger chaos in the country with the ultimate goal of a military takeover, have influenced the public perceptions toward some institutions.
Confidence in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which was the most trusted institution in the surveys released over the past years, has fallen dramatically. According to Pollmark’s survey, 64.3 percent of the public think the most successful institution is the police department. The police were followed by the TSK with 60.4 percent and presidency with 51.3 percent.
Erdoğan leaves rivals far behind
The survey pointed to Prime Minister Erdoğan as the most-admired politician with 30.6 percent of respondents saying the politician they most admire is Erdoğan. Erdoğan was followed by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli with 5.1 percent. Thirty-eight percent of those polled said they do not admire any politicians.
CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir and banned Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk were among the list of politicians admired most.
No support for party closures, coups
The respondents of the survey were also asked about their views on “civilian coup” allegations as well as military coups and party closures. Some circles in Turkey have launched a campaign against the government suggesting that Turkey was heading to a single-party regime under the AK Party government. They argue that while Turkey is confronting military coups, the government is conducting a civilian coup.
Less than 26 percent of those surveyed said they think the government is staging a civilian coup in Turkey. On the contrary, 70 percent said they would not back a military coup that would be staged against the AK Party. And 63 percent said they oppose launching a closure case against the AK Party.
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