Turkey: Founder of Polling institute arrested

Kemal Özkiraz, the founder of the Polling institute ‘Avrasya Araştırma’, also known as ‘Avrasya Anket’, said he was arrested in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Saturday morning.

The circumstances of the arrest have not yet been clarified. In March, Kemal Özkiraz ran as a candidate for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Antalya. He describes himself as “not impartial, but honest”.

In the latest election polls, published by Avrasya Anketa and released yesterday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu acquired 51.3% of the votes while Erdogan only garnered 44.2%. The ruling coalition between the AKP and the MHP would also lose the majority in parliament.

Son araştırmamız.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu 51.3
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 44.2

Meclis çoğunluğu muhalefette.

Hayırlı olsun. pic.twitter.com/Jhlmi7D0Bs

— Kemal ÖZKİRAZ (@avrasyaanket) May 12, 2023

Kemal Özkiraz biraz önce Ankara’da gözaltına alındı.

— Kemal ÖZKİRAZ (@avrasyaanket) May 13, 2023