Ramadan is over… Now it’s time for the Holiday…

How quickly time passes. We have reached the end of March. The evening rallies held for 7 days at Istanbul's Saraçhane Square have entered a new phase with the election of Nuri Aslan as the Deputy Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). The people of Istanbul, especially the youth, filled the squares every night without tiring. The streets, roads, and the inside and outside of the metro stations echoed with the slogans, "There is no salvation alone. Either all together or none of us." These were promising scenes for our democracy.

The excitement and stance of the youth, in particular, surprised both the government and me. One should not dismiss the Z generation. It is a tremendous performance. They have taken ownership of their future, their country, and their democracy. They are taking ownership. I applaud them from the heart.

In response to the youth taking ownership of democracy, the government has arrested nearly 2,000 of our young people. It is as if they are taking revenge on the youth for this sincere interest shown by the Turkish people toward democracy. A slow kick can be fierce.

Without any obligation, and solely with the foresight of protecting democracy, approximately 16 million people went to the solidarity ballot box. The unexpected number of votes received for Ekrem İmamoğlu to be a presidential candidate is an admirable event.

Let us examine the importance of casting so many votes in Turkey on the scale of the Göcek neighborhood where I live. I would like to share this with you to reveal how important the data is.

Göcek, which was previously a town and municipality, is a neighborhood in the Fethiye district of Muğla province. The neighborhoods of İnlice, Gökçeovacık, and Karacaören are also neighboring mukhtarships of Göcek. According to the 2024 census, there are 5,051 registered residents in Göcek. İnlice has a population of 1,589, Gökçeovacık 401, and Karacaören 175. If we consider that citizens in the neighboring neighborhoods also voted at the ballot box in Göcek, we are talking about a total population of around 7,216. Around 2,500 of our people came to the ballot box and cast their votes. It is seen that this is one-third of the registered population. If we also take into account children, the elderly, the sick, and the disabled, 40-45% of our citizens of voting age went to the ballot box as if they were going to a wedding.

It is an important initiative for our democracy. Even if the pens-for-hire of the pro-government press belittle the nearly 16 million votes given to Ekrem İmamoğlu, the sun cannot be plastered over with mud.

Although Ekrem İmamoğlu is currently imprisoned, he is the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) by the unanimous vote of the CHP Group. There is a large rally in Istanbul's Maltepe today. We are attending the rally to protect democracy against the pressures and obstacles of the government. Let us meet in the squares and at the ballot boxes.

In the coming days, many actions and initiatives will be continued to protect our democracy and accelerate the early election process. The support campaign for Ekrem İmamoğlu, which will start in Trabzon during the holiday, is very important. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel says the target is 27.5 million voters.

The government extended the holiday to 9 days to reduce the impact of the initiatives to protect our democracy. Both rest and do not neglect to do something for our democracy. The holy month of Ramadan is ending, now it is time for the Holiday...

I wish you a holiday full of health, happiness, and peace.

Prof. Dr. Nurettin DEMİR