Turkey’s AK Party winning parliament ‘majority in vote’

ANKARA: Turkey’s ruling AK Party and its nationalist alliance partner are seen attracting support from about 54 percent of voters in the June 24 snap parliamentary election, a MetroPoll survey showed on Thursday.

Turks will vote in both parliamentary and presidential elections, which will herald the switch to a powerful executive presidency narrowly approved in a referendum last year and championed by Erdogan.

Conducted with 2,063 people in 28 Turkish provinces, the poll showed support for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party at 48 percent, while its alliance partner MHP was expected to garner 6 percent of votes.

The survey showed three other parties attracting more than 10 percent of votes - the minimum threshold needed to enter parliament.

It put support at 21 percent for the main opposition CHP, 12 percent for the newly founded Iyi (Good) Party and 10 percent for the pro-Kurdish HDP.

Like the AKP and MHP, the opposition CHP and Iyi Party are also members of an alliance, easing pressure on the smaller parties to exceed the 10 percent threshold.

The survey was conducted between April 13 - 20. President Erdogan announced the snap elections on April 18.Earlier this week, Erdogan said the AK Party needed a parliamentary majority to make constitutional changes until the new executive presidential system becomes fully functional.

"Aside from presidential decrees, there will be a need to make several legal changes, implement new regulations or even constitutional changes until the new system is fully functional," Erdogan told lawmakers in parliament.