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The "terror-free Türkiye" process, aimed at disarming the PKK, has defined the political year in Türkiye, significantly impacting voter support for the ruling alliance.
According to a year-end survey by AREA Research conducted with 2,000 participants, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has suffered a serious decline in votes due to its role in the process, while other nationalist parties opposing the talks have made gains.
The survey reveals a dead heat at the top, with both the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) polling at exactly 31.1%.
The CHP, which saw its support surge to 35% following the arrest of former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in a corruption probe in March, appears to have lost that momentum toward the end of the year. Conversely, the AK Party, which started the year at 29.3%, managed to increase its vote share by approximately 2 points.
The "terror-free Türkiye" process, initiated by MHP leader Devlet Bahceli's call to PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan, has negatively impacted the MHP. The party's vote share, which was 9.5% at the beginning of the year, fell to 6.1% in the final month.
In contrast, the Iyi Party, a splinter from the MHP, increased its votes with its anti-process stance, rising from the 6%-7% percent range to 8.2%. The far-right Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), led by Umit Ozdag, also saw a slight increase, moving from 4.1% in the summer to 4.6%.
Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is close to the Kurdish political movement and is another key actor in the process, experienced fluctuations throughout the year. Oscillating between 8% and 11%, the party's vote share was measured at 9% in the last week of December.
MHP leader Bahceli had called on imprisoned PKK ringleader Ocalan in October 2024 to dissolve the organization. Ocalan made a call for disarmament and dissolution in February 2025. Following this, the PKK held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in the summer and announced the end of its armed activities in Türkiye.
Negotiations are currently continuing regarding the integration of the SDF in northern Syria into the Syrian army, following a memorandum signed in March.
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