Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who failed to lead his party to victory in thirteen elections and whose only triumphs were winning the Istanbul and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality elections, lost at yesterday's CHP Congress.
Özgür Özel surpassed the 684-vote threshold required for election in the second round and became the Chairman of the CHP with 812 votes.
Thus, Kılıçdaroğlu became the first Chairman in the 100-year history of the CHP to be "voted out."
***
The Congress did not ignore the message sent by CHP voters following the last Presidential election.
Thirteen-year Chairman Kılıçdaroğlu clung tightly to his seat until the very last minute.
He failed to show democratic virtue.
Instead of taking responsibility for election defeats and paying the price, he always blamed others.
He was even willing to destroy his party with the stubbornness of "one more election."
He did not care about CHP voters like me, who had sworn not to go to the polls if he were re-elected Chairman.
Even in his speech at yesterday's Congress, he spoke of "those who stabbed him in the back," but he once again ignored the Ataturkist CHP members whom he himself had "stabbed in the back" many times.
He ignored criticisms that he shifted the party to the right…
That he distanced the CHP from Ataturk's principles…
That he did not even mention secularism.
Especially in the last few months, he became a "one-man ruler" just like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he criticized at every opportunity for being a "one-man ruler."
He disregarded party boards.
He disregarded the party charter.
He even made remarks implying that he would determine his own successor.
***
In the end, all of this backfired.
Fearing the reactions of CHP members upon their return home, the Congress delegates said "Goodbye" to "Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu."
A new era has now begun in the CHP.
The name of this era is not the "Özgür Özel era," but, no matter what anyone says, it is the "CHP voter era."
The CHP voters, who did not topple the government in the elections, toppled the internal party leadership through the delegates.
For this reason, there is only one thing that needs to be done now:
Özgür Özel must implement all the promises he made before being elected.
He must absolutely, without fail, hold "primary elections" for the local elections…
He must replace internal party dictatorship with internal party democracy…
He must purge the names that have been a burden on the backs of CHP voters for years and have brought no benefit to the party.
He must ensure that only CHP members are in the management of the CHP.
And of course, he must defend the six arrows of the CHP, which were ignored during Kılıçdaroğlu's 13-year reign, to the death and make them rising values once again…
***
No lie; I am not one of those who believe that Özgür Özel will create a miracle…
But even I have become hopeful.
At least I am no longer "resentful."
I have regained the strength to go to the ballot box.
I am sure that this revolution carried out by the CHP Congress delegates in the CHP will reshape not only the CHP but also Turkish politics…
May it be auspicious for the CHP and our country!
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