Turkish political analyst Bakir Ağırdir predicts Erdogan will lose upcoming presidential elections

ANKARA — A Turkish researcher has analyzed the possibility of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan losing the upcoming presidential elections and losing his popularity with the Kurdish people in Turkey.

From time to time, Turkish researchers raise expectations of a decreasing popularity of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially among Turkey’s Kurds whom Erdogan has attempted to win over for the upcoming presidential elections.

Turkish researcher Bakir Ağırdir said that 80% of the Kurdish people in Turkey would not vote for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), even if the government scattered gold on them from helicopters, as he put it.

Ağırdir’s statements came during a conference organized by the Turkish Social, Economic, and Political Research Foundation on overcoming polarization in Turkey.

He attributed his statements to the elections of 2010, when only 50% of the Kurdish people supported Erdogan.

Ağırdir pointed out that if the upcoming elections result in toppling the current government through democratic means, it will be a source of inspiration for the whole world.

He stated that 20 million of Turkey’s 62 million voters are young and that the maximum number of votes that the government can get from young people is only as little as 3 million.