Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu lists 9 things the CHP must do

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the 7th Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), made assessments regarding the current agenda. Closely monitoring developments within the CHP, Kılıçdaroğlu spoke about the presidential candidate debates in an interview with Saygı Öztürk from Sözcü.

Stating that the CHP's primary duty is to organize the opposition bloc and lead the country's opposition through the alliances it will form, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "Neither early elections nor democracy will fall from the sky. Through correct and determined opposition, the oppressive government must be forced into early elections." Speaking on the CHP's roadmap, Kılıçdaroğlu listed 9 points and stated the following:

"1- Keeping the presidential candidacy on the agenda as if it were our only agenda and problem lowers the motivation of the opposition bloc and our party, while providing relief to the government. While our priority should be the demand for early elections, we should not spend our energy on different areas. We can define this as a 'premature birth.' And we all know the risks of premature births.

2- Starting a race within the party for the presidential elections today polarizes the parties, and in the end, this works in Erdoğan's favor. To put it more clearly, such a process means 'placing a pulled-pin hand grenade inside the party.'

3- While Turkey has turned into a semi-open prison, and the unemployed, retirees, farmers, tradespeople—that is, every segment of society—are bleeding, the party's energy should not evolve into an inward-looking debate or polarization. This polarization occurs not only at the level of candidates but also at the level of provincial and district organizations. This is in the nature of politics. You cannot ignore this reality.

4- If we start a presidential debate today, the voter's agenda and the party's agenda will diverge. This harms the party the most. In other words, the perception that 'the sheep is worried about its life, while the butcher is worried about the meat' will become embedded in the public's memory.

5- Let's say this process continues. When multiple presidential candidates tell party members 'choose me' or 'vote for me,' what will they promise? What will they say? Especially when the party's view has not even been clarified, or does not even exist!.. Considering the pollution on social media and the tasks of troll armies, wouldn't an internal party smear process serve Erdoğan's interests the most?

6- Won't the start of such a process harm the unity and integrity of the party? Won't it trigger division within the party?

7- There is a law regarding how the presidential candidate will be determined. Won't the will of the CHP group in Parliament be, in a sense, mortgaged?

8- There is a reality that must never be forgotten. To win the presidential election, we need 50+1 percent of the votes. The CHP's vote share is clear. You can never ignore this reality when determining a candidate. The presidential election process is not a process where we play by ourselves and for ourselves. No CHP official should forget this reality.

9- The first thing the CHP management must do today is to immediately end the debates on 'who will be the president?' A statement by party officials saying, 'when the time comes, the party's authorized bodies will determine our candidate,' will put an end to all these unnecessary debates."