Opposition New Party leads Turkish opinion poll

Türkiye's opposition New Party, which was founded two weeks ago, is ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, receiving the support of more than 34 percent of respondents, according to a new opinion poll by Turkish polling agency SONAR, cited by Birgun newspaper.

According to the poll, conducted in the first days of August, if early elections were held in Türkiye August 8-9, New Party would win 34.3% of the vote, while AKP would receive 30.2%. The pro-Kurdish DEM Party ranks third with 8.5%, followed by the nationalist Good Party with 7% and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with 5.1% the poll also shows. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) ranks sixth, with just 5% support, CE Report quotes BTA.

New Party was founded by former CHP leader Ozgur Ozel in late July, after he and 90 CHP deputies in the Grand National Assembly announced that they were leaving the party and joining the new movement.

The decision came after a prolonged crisis within the CHP, triggered primarily by legal proceedings against a number of its members, including mayors and senior party officials, over corruption allegations that began in late 2024.

A major split within the CHP emerged in late May, when the Ankara Court of Appeals issued a ruling annulling the party's 38th regular congress, held in 2023, removing the party leadership headed by Ozgur Ozel and reinstating its former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his administration.

The move effectively split the party into two factions and led to the creation of the new movement.

Photo: Facebook/ Ozgur Ozer