In Fact, There Were Two Options Before Them!

Either they were going to face the voters with names who had a clean record with no baggage; who were compatible with the party's identity and principles; who could carry their responsibility in public administration without stepping outside moral boundaries; who were sincerely committed to the founding values of the Republic; and who did not view public office as a field for personal gain...

Or they were going to put names on the list who did not think of politics as a public duty but as an opportunity to fill their own pockets; who had surrendered to local power balances, had weak political affiliation, a controversial past, a connection to the party that was limited to the sign on the door, very dirty baggage, and almost no features other than the “probability of winning”!

They made their choice!

As long as I come out first in the election, secure my seat, my chairmanship is not questioned, I write a success story, the people run after me, I keep the public occupied here and there with songs and folk tunes, and pretend to be in opposition; the rest is a manifestation of the 'God is merciful' mentality.

That is why none of what is happening is a surprise to those who look at politics through a somewhat critical lens.

Even though we do not have much intention to discuss this side of the issue after the Uşak CHP Mayor's true colors were revealed, what we really need to discuss is this “choice” and the unprincipled, spineless, characterless, and self-serving attitude behind it.

Let us underline this with a thick pen.

The story did not start today.

There is no point in pretending to be surprised by the picture that has emerged now.

Let us not drag it out, let us go through examples.

For instance, everyone knew about the shenanigans of Özlem Çerçioğlu, who bolted to the AKP so that investigations would not be opened into the corruption files against her. It was not hidden or secret. Her financial dealings had become notorious. Anyone who went to Aydın and took the pulse of the public could have learned these things.

Yet, they nominated her.

Then...

This became an important breaking point for the CHP. Along with Özlem Çerçioğlu, the mayors of Söke, Sultanhisar, and Yenipazar found themselves in the AKP.

Were those at the Headquarters not aware that these names were so unreliable?

Let us continue....

Since the election, the CHP mayors of Gaziantep Şehitkamil and Karkamış, Konya Seydişehir, Yalova Altınova, Istanbul Beykoz, Ardahan Göle, Şırnak Karalar, Çorum Aşdağul, Batman Hasankeyf, Antalya Aksu, and Tekirdağ Hayrabolu have also resigned and joined the AKP or chosen to remain “independent” for now.

The Keçiören issue needs to be written about separately.

Because this process is actually not just a “single resignation”; it is a textbook example, in the literal sense of the word, to understand the anatomy, perhaps even the pathology, of the CHP's candidate determination process for local elections, with its chain of candidate selection, backroom deals, crises, ruptures, and transfer allegations.

That is why it needs to be read carefully.

Mesut Özaslan was not a name from the classic CHP cadre. He was previously on Mansur Yavaş's team. He had served as an executive in municipal companies such as BELKO and PORTAŞ. There were allegations about him. In other words, it was known that his background was not very clean.

Mansur Yavaş was strong in Ankara, and the CHP management wanted to reflect this power onto district candidates. In a difficult district like Keçiören, they looked for a name that could “win,” and the name Mesut Özaslan came to the fore here.

But it was not “principle, origin, or party affiliation,” but the “probability of winning” that was decisive.

The result is obvious!

Mesut Özaslan did not leave alone; the deputy mayor and many council members also resigned with him.

The WhatsApp correspondences that were spilled out did not leave a very positive impression in the minds of CHP voters.

Of course, these are not the only ones.

Where do we put the mayors who damage the CHP's social democratic identity and its politics that should be on the side of the worker and the laborer?

For example, Buca!

The Mayor, as if the country were a bed of roses, as if the people were living in luxury, as if the government were not casting any aspersions on the opposition, and as if no one were launching operations against CHP municipalities with flimsy excuses, took his folk singer girlfriend Sevcan Orhan and went on vacation to Thailand's Phuket Island. Moreover, without even paying the salaries of the workers at the Buca Municipality.

Sevcan Orhan's statement, which essentially meant “I swear to God, we paid out of our own pockets,” is not enough to save the situation; even if he had paid for the vacation out of his own pocket, in the current state and conditions of the country, he should have sat in his seat and done his job properly, and not given anyone—especially the government—any ammunition to chew on.

One does not need to drink from a fortune teller's cup to predict how the government will trample on this during the election campaign tomorrow or the next day.

Let us come to the mayors against whom investigations have been opened...

Since March 31, 2024, a total of approximately 21 CHP mayors have been arrested. The operations were not limited to just a few cities; in addition to the Istanbul-based corruption files, investigations are being conducted separately into many provincial, district, and town municipalities on charges such as “irregularity,” “rigging bids,” “bribery,” and “establishing/managing an organization.”

The political position of the CHP Headquarters is that all these investigation files are “empty.” This approach is understandable, especially for the İmamoğlu case, because İmamoğlu is the official presidential candidate of the CHP.

What about the other investigations?

For example, the operation carried out on the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality just a few days ago.

Mustafa Bozbey, who was detained, had previously served as the Mayor of Nilüfer District, and the allegations of corruption and bribery against him were notorious. Claims that he filled the municipality with his relatives and kin and conducted his financial dealings through his brothers were appearing in the local press in full detail.

The CHP Headquarters ignored these, and his name was written on the list just because he was a “winnable candidate.”

Those who follow local politics in Bursa even a little bit knew that Mustafa Bozbey would soon fall into the government's operation radar.

And that is exactly what happened.

The government waited for him to run for the Metropolitan Municipality again to press the button. In short, we will see in the coming days how empty or full the investigation file is.

Likewise, Kuşadası and Çeşme... We have known for a long time that similar foul odors have been rising from there.

Even though the media that deems itself “opposition” tries to ignore it, the people of our country are experiencing a serious disappointment with CHP municipalities.

There are other examples too.

For instance, one is Çankaya, considered one of the strongholds of the CHP, and the other is Edremit, the pearl of the North Aegean.

No one could understand why the CHP nominated a young lawyer in Çankaya who had no local government experience, whose social relations were extremely problematic, whose oratory skills were weak, and who had no features that set him apart other than his sectarian affiliation.

Were there no other candidates who could do this job properly?

The choice made with the self-confidence of knowing that even a jacket would win if nominated here was actually a great injustice done to the people of Çankaya. When people could not see anything in the name of service in two years, they are now slowly starting to question this, but it is already too late.

What about Edremit?

They nominated a contractor who turned the beautiful coastal town into a pile of concrete, and he won. Now they will say that a primary election was held and Mehmet Ertaş emerged. That is not how it works; everyone involved in local politics knows very well how he won the primary.

Go and look at the Altınkum neighborhood of Edremit; “Ertaş” is written on one out of every three newly built apartment buildings. Whenever he finds an empty plot, he puts up a building without batting an eye.

Where is social municipalism now...

He neither builds a proper park nor leaves any green space. The streets and avenues are like fields. The roads were supposedly dug for natural gas, but all of Akçay and Altınkum are covered in dust and dirt.

It is unclear when they will finish.

And what about the Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality.

There were rumors that Ahmet Akın would switch to the AKP, but they did not turn out to be true. At least for now. He continues in the CHP, but he is performing so poorly that those living in the Gulf, in particular, have already reached the point of saying, “I wish my hand had been broken.”

The most important issue is the sewage treatment system, which has been a never-ending story for years. Unfortunately, although two years have passed since the election, they have not made an inch of progress. That beautiful Gulf has turned into a septic tank right before our eyes. In the summer months, if the wind turns to the sea breeze, no one can stand the smell of sewage.

In other words, things are not going very well for the CHP in these places.

The so-called “journalist” who frequently appears on one of the “opposition channels” and whom Ahmet Akın has put on the payroll under the title of “consultant” will not be enough to save him either. In the upcoming local elections, the CHP may experience a major disappointment in Balıkesir; you heard it here first.

It is possible to multiply the examples. Let us put a comma here for now.

A ten-point expert question: how did this picture emerge?

Let us return to the beginning of the article by saying, “Every repetition is a silent war won against forgetting”:

If you look at the following when determining candidates:

“Who will win?”

“Who is powerful?”

“Who is effective locally?”

But if you push the following into the background:

“Who is clean?”

“Who is accountable?”

“Who will truly do this duty for the public?”

“Who will truly act in line with the party's principles and values?”

Then what is happening today becomes inevitable. The choice the CHP management made at the entrance of the system manifested itself as a crisis at the exit.

It is that clear and simple.

In fact, the issue is not individual names.

The issue is that local governments are increasingly ceasing to be a space for political representation and are turning into a field for personal relationships, financial dealings that feed cronies and finance politics, clique calculations, and a mentality that carries public power into private life.

The events that have occurred one after another in recent weeks have shown this picture in all its nakedness.

If the CHP truly wants to come to power and overcome the country's ill-fated destiny, it must, absolutely must, save itself from within this picture, and with that, we conclude our article.