Ekrem İmamoğlu at a crossroads

What are the two paths ahead of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu? What kind of strategy should the CHP Headquarters and Chairman Özgür Özel determine for the near future? Ali Adnan Aslan writes....

Ekrem Bey's journey, which began with his district presidency in Beylikdüzü, has enabled him to become an important political figure in Turkey in an unexpected way, thanks to a mix of circumstances, luck, and his own talents and lifestyle.

Moreover, reaching these heights in such a short time in a political party with a deep-rooted and prestigious history like the CHP is a very rare, if not almost unprecedented, situation.

The same applies to Mansur Yavaş, whose name has also come to the fore. In this case, it is not anyone's place to underestimate the favor of the CHP organization and its voters.

Let us not forget and let us not be mistaken: the CHP base has long since realized the danger of the Republic regime disappearing; to eliminate this danger, they have dutifully worn every garment tailored for them by their party's leadership, even if they did not want to.

This has shown that the CHP base does not consist of a few ignorant, low-life individuals chasing personal gain; on the contrary, it is composed of the big-hearted children of the Republic.

Therefore, whoever they may be, political actors who have received the support of the CHP organization and its base can only ensure the continuation of this support by meeting their hopes and expectations.

Otherwise, I say with regret that they will not even find a place in the pages of history. There are plenty of examples of this in recent history.

The ruling side, of course, does not want formations that could be rivals to it on the opposition side. This is not a strange situation.

What is strange is that the ruling wing recognizes no rights or laws and there is nothing it will not do for the sake of power.

Let us state clearly that the way to prevent the ruling side, that is, Tayyip Erdoğan's presidency, is not to constantly cry, complain, hope for help, or wait; it is to build a strategy.

It is to correctly analyze the path the ruling side has followed to date. Unfortunately, I do not think this is being done.

Let us not forget, Tayyip Erdoğan has not won any election to date using existing paths.

In every election, he has changed the existing path, created his own path, walked on that path, and reached the result. He is doing the same thing now. This includes changes to laws and the constitution, and even choosing his own opponent.

He is quite successful in eliminating all formations that could weaken him and cause him to lose the election. He is doing the same thing right now.

In other words, no matter what happens, he will sideline the CHP's strong candidates and choose his own opponent. Especially his specific sensitivity toward Ekrem İmamoğlu is very clear.

İmamoğlu's success in Istanbul irritated Erdoğan. It is also quite obvious that he wants to teach İmamoğlu a lesson because of his presidential aspirations and his challenge to him.

Why did I say "Ekrem İmamoğlu at a crossroads" in the title of the article?

Because recently, especially in the case of the trustee appointed to the Esenyurt Municipality, the justification for the trustee and the manner of the appointment revealed a lot. Ekrem İmamoğlu also seems to have understood this.

It is impossible not to notice an anxiety and astonishment on his face in his first statements, and he is right in this astonishment.

He has two paths before him: First, considering that the power against him is disproportionate and the risks of entering into a struggle with this power, to retreat into his shell and remain only within the scope of municipal work.

Second, to realize the power of the support the public has given him, to stand tall, to enter the fray directly, and to display a determined stance by increasing the dosage of the struggle.

And I think he seems to have chosen the second path.

However, the issue is not just determined resistance; many factors are needed for this resistance to reach success.

Starting with İmamoğlu's attitudes and behaviors, the attitudes and activities of the teams he has formed are also important.

Communication accidents and disruptions that have been repeated many times to date must be resolved quickly.

Especially the CHP Headquarters and Chairman Özgür Özel must grasp the gravity of the ongoing process correctly as soon as possible and be able to implement policies that can prevent attempts to sideline their potential candidates.

I do not think this has been achieved so far.

If you evaluate the power against you by falling into the delusion that "we defeated them in the municipalities anyway," you will end up disappointing those who pinned their hopes on you.

Please realize the developments and the negative trend as soon as possible.

The only way to succeed is to ensure that the large masses of people who are determined to protect their Republic believe in you.

The way to do this is to create cadres that are far from ostentation and arrogance; that have the intelligence to be utilized, the capacity to fill the seats they hold in some way, and that can provide confidence and gravitas when they appear before the public, and to engage in communication with the public.

Because the recent elections were not the heroism of congresses, but of the people who live in fear of losing their Republic.

Ali Adnan Aslan