Turkish ruling party votes in decline, survey says

Turkish ruling party is losing the support of the electorate because of the economic downturn and its move to solve the Kurdish issue, a survey revealed in local press on Tuesday.

Sonar Research Company concluded that unemployment is a leading problem in Turkey, followed by economic issues and high prices. The Kurdish issue was the third, a report in Daily News said.

Hakan Bayrakci, head of the survey company's administrative board, said that Turkey has been under pressure since the economic crisis began to unfold, and the return of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, members could have resulted in decreased electoral support.

The governing Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is losing votes while the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, and the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, have increased electorate support, according to the survey.

The survey was conducted with 3,000 people who reflect the Turkish electorate between Oct.5 to 25.

However, Metin Heper, a political scientist from Bilkent University, voiced caution over the survey's results. "These kinds of studies are not accurate predictions of electorate behavior."

The report in the paper quoted Heper as saying that "Had there been a significant event on the day of the poll, this (event) would have affected results."

Heper was doubtful of the large change in the percentage of electoral support between parties. "Two parties that have 15 or 20 points of difference between them cannot suddenly catch up because of one or two events."