The “Turkey Political Agenda September 2025” survey, conducted between September 12–18 on 2,000 respondents in 26 provinces across the country, found that 54.6 percent of participants back the initiative referred to by the Turkish government as “Terror-Free Turkey,” while 33 percent oppose it.

When asked how they view the peace process, conservative voters showed the strongest support, with 76.3 percent in favor and only 13.1 percent opposed. By contrast, only 36.5 percent of respondents identifying as secular or Atatürkist, supporting the principles of modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, expressed support, while a majority of 54 percent opposed the process.

Nationalists were closely divided, with 52 percent in favor and 32.7 percent against, while democrats and socialists leaned supportive, with 53.3 percent backing the initiative.

Ethnic identity also played a key role. Among Kurdish respondents, 70.4 percent supported the process, with just 20.8 percent opposed. Among Turks, 47.7 percent expressed support and 40.3 percent disapproval, showing more ambivalence compared to the overall average.

The survey comes amid renewed talks on ending Turkey’s decades-long conflict with the PKK, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives since the outlawed group launched its insurgency in 1984.

Designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK had originally fought for an independent Kurdish state in the southeast but later demanded only greater Kurdish rights and democratic reforms.

The renewed peace process was initiated in October 2024 by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli, a key government ally. Bahceli publicly called on jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to urge the militant group to lay down its arms. Ocalan responded in February with a message calling on the PKK to disarm and disband.

The PKK decided in May to disband, disarm and end its armed campaign, saying it “has completed its historic mission” in line with Ocalan’s call. The militants burned their weapons in northern Iraq as a symbolic first step on July 30.

There are now expectations that the Turkish government will reciprocate the PKK’s move with legal steps that will include protections for militants who lay down their arms and the meeting of demands from the country’s Kurds to expand their political and cultural rights.