Latest polls put 'yes' camp ahead in Turkey’s referendum
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems closer than ever to his dream of an executive presidency as the newest polls give him a slight edge.
Turkey’s leading polling firm Konda announced on its website April 13 that the “yes” votes were ahead in the country’s upcoming presidential referendum. The people of Turkey will vote on April 16 whether to abolish the post of prime minister and give expanded executive powers to the head of state, a long-time dream of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the note on Konda’s website, turnout on April 16 will be nearly 90%, of which 51.5% will vote “yes” and 48.5% will choose “no.” Based on face-to-face surveys conducted with 3,462 respondents in 30 provinces, Konda’s estimates come with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 at a 95% confidence level and plus or minus 2.2 at 99% confidence level.
But perhaps keeping in mind fellow pollsters’ mistakes last year in predicting that Britain would vote to remain in the European Union and Hillary Clinton would become the president of the United States, Konda’s announcement comes with a caveat: “When this forecast is considered within the survey’s margin of error, a final judgement might be misleading.”
The news may come as a surprise for the “no” camp, which as Al-Monitor reported March 27, previous surveys had given a slight edge.
