Transitioning to a new phase...

The pressures on journalists that have been ongoing for some time, the detentions, the rumors circulating from ear to ear, the propaganda claiming "they will be arrested tomorrow, they will be arrested the day after," and the cancellation of the university diploma obtained 35 years ago by the Republican People's Party's (CHP) Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and potential presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu... All these events and potential future developments signal that Turkish political life, and consequently democracy, is transitioning into a new phase. It is clear that this new period will necessitate a difficult and arduous struggle, especially for opposition politicians.

I would like to open a parenthesis here. For some time, having seen the signs of this approaching apocalypse, I have explained in detail in several of my articles that there is a need for a great embrace within the Republican People's Party. This great embrace was not just a call for unity within the party. It was also a call for the inclusion of qualified human resources, who have been excluded from CHP cadres and politics for years, back into the political circle. Of course, our voice was not heard, and such a call did not come from the party. This is not surprising at all. Closing the parenthesis I opened on this subject, I would like to touch upon what can be done from now on.

The government, which creates new demons and enemies in every period of politics, has clearly identified the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party, as the sole enemy of this period. The Republican People's Party is experiencing the disadvantage of being caught in this collective legal and political assault at a time when it is fragile in terms of its internal dynamics. Although unity is achieved within the party in extraordinary situations, the foundations of a resilient struggle require a great consolidation that starts from the grassroots, continues through the authorized boards, and concludes in the parliament.

The nearest opportunity and target for achieving this consolidation is the primary election to be held on March 23. In order to ensure this and to achieve the highest level of participation, all authorized figures of the party, especially CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, must make strong calls and gain strength by ensuring unity within the party.

Furthermore, the planning of an unspoken grand alliance that encompasses the entire opposition must certainly be added to the internal party unity. Ways must be sought to rebuild the broad opposition bloc that was formed ahead of the 2017 Constitutional Amendment Referendum and the 2023 Elections. Therefore, the first of the two great consolidations that the CHP must achieve is internal party unity, and the second is unity within the opposition. If these two are achieved, the government's strategy of demonizing and isolating the CHP is doomed to collapse. Of course, this is not very easy. After the 2023 Elections, there was a very serious loss of trust between opposition parties. Although this loss of trust was not felt in the local elections due to their unique dynamics, it will make itself felt much more severely as the general elections approach.

This is a period where debates over which mayor is polling higher in public opinion surveys are meaningless. Since there is no fully and truly functioning democracy in place, and therefore fair competition conditions have not been fully established, the priority must be the socialization of the opposition. In this sense, one must also give credit to Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş.

Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş, in a tweet he posted immediately after the announcement of the cancellation of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's diploma, stated: "I declare to the public that I will stand by our Mayor Ekrem at every minute of this entire legal and political process, and that I am SUSPENDING my decision regarding my 'presidential candidacy,' which I had previously expressed at the table of three, until this injustice is resolved." This statement itself is proof of how accurately potential presidential candidate Mansur Yavaş reads the political conditions. Ultimately, there is no salvation alone in this new phase we are going through.