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Nearly 50 percent of Turkey thinks government becoming authoritarian

ANKARA, Turkey, June 17 (UPI) -- Nearly 50 percent of the Turkish public believe their government is becoming more authoritarian and repressive, a poll indicates.

The poll, conducted by the MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center, found that 49.9 percent of respondents said their government is becoming more overbearing, Today's Zaman reported Sunday.

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About 36 percent of respondents said the government is becoming more democratic and 14.2 percent either didn't want to respond or said they do not have any opinion on that issue.

The poll also found that 54.4 percent of respondents said they believe the government is interfering into their lifestyle, while 40.4 percent said otherwise.

When asked about why they think the recent protests in Istanbul's Gezi Park were started, 20.1 percent of respondents said the government was to blame, and 16.9 percent said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, specifically, prompted the protests.

The poll, which 2,818 adults participated in, was conducted from June 3-12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points,

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