Ankara Mayor more successful in managing coronavirus crisis than Erdoğan: Poll

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Approval ratings for Turkey's mayors from main opposition CHP climb in first year in office

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is more successful in managing the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis than President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a recent poll.

The poll carried out by private pollster Metropoll in April aimed to reveal people's perceptions on governance during the pandemic.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca topped the list for being the most trusted figure with 8.8 points out of 10, while the ministry's Science Commission came in second with 8.6, daily Birgün reported on May 6.

Yavaş, who has been praised for putting forward a successful example of local governance during the pandemic, became the public's third trusted figure by gaining 8.18 points.

He was followed by Erdoğan, who scored 6.65 and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu ranked fifth.

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Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, another mayor from the CHP, ranked sixth in the list.

The participants of the poll were also asked about their opinions on access to masks. Some 55 percent of participants said they had issues collecting their free masks that the government distributed.

Ankara banned the sale of protective masks on April 3, promising to distribute free masks to all citizens if they applied online and received a confirmation code on their text phones.

The digital distribution chain proved problematic until it was abolished a month later on May 3.

The percentage of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) supporters who reported problems in obtaining masks stood at 41 percent.

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When asked whether they participated in the presidency's COVID-19 fundraising campaign, a whopping majority of 70.8 percent said they didn't.

While some 57.7 percent of AKP supporters said they didn't participate in the campaign, supporters of its allied Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also avoided contributing, with 53.3 percent saying they haven't.

The number was seen to be significantly higher among CHP supporters, with 88.4 percent saying that they didn't donate money.

While pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) supporters' 86.9 percent said they didn't participate in the campaign, the highest percentage of citizens who avoided it were among Good (İYİ) Party voters with 92.7 percent.

While pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) supporters' 86.9 percent said they didn't participate in the campaign, the highest percentage of citizens who avoided it were among Good (İYİ) Party voters with 92.7 percent.

The participants were also asked who they hold accountable for the mismanagement before the two-day curfew announced late on April 10.

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Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced that a curfew will be imposed just two hours before it began. The announcement stirred panic among the people, resulting in scenes of overcrowding on the streets.

Some 46.4 percent of the participants held the government responsible, while 31.4 blamed the people for flocking to the streets to shop.

It was seen that both the AKP and MHP supporters blamed the people, with 55.6 and 45.1 percent respectively.

According to the poll, 26.8 percent of the participants said they were left unemployed during the pandemic, while 42 percent said that they have been unemployed already.

The percentage of those saying they were left unemployed, put on unpaid leave and those already unemployed reached 76 percent.