Özgür Özel reveals the government's plan: Öcalan out, İmamoğlu in!

CHP leader Özgür Özel was a guest on Fatih Altaylı's YouTube program. Özgür Özel answered questions regarding Selahattin Demirtaş and Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Upon journalist Fatih Altaylı asking whether the Öcalan side dislikes Demirtaş and the government dislikes İmamoğlu, and whether this new process could be an effort to neutralize both figures, Özel stated the following:

''Now, there is something like this regarding the Demirtaş issue. There is an understanding by Mr. Devlet [Bahçeli] that views Öcalan as an actor while ignoring Demirtaş. This situation is also present in Mr. Tayyip's [Erdoğan] approaches.''

This is not something that will work. Demirtaş has a resonance among Kurdish voters wherever they live in Turkey, whether they vote for the DEM Party or not. From this perspective, this is a very wrong point of view.

Answering the question of whether the government side has held any meetings with Demirtaş, Özel said:

I asked Mr. Demirtaş if there was any contact with you. He said he never met with them. He said that even if they wanted to meet with me, I would have to have regained my freedom. Otherwise, he said it would be wrong to express an opinion while under captivity.

Demirtaş also told me that he does not want his own freedom to be made a subject of bargaining. He stated that he adopts my understanding and that no actor should be excluded.

Speaking about the ongoing political ban against İmamoğlu, Özel continued his words as follows:

On one hand, the issue of a ban on Ekrem İmamoğlu, and on the other, let's keep Demirtaş inside. On one hand, let's make Apo talk and solve the problem, let's change the constitution and stay in power; it doesn't work like that.

As the Republican People's Party, we will not let Ekrem İmamoğlu be sacrificed. Let them know that. We have done all our work. They would regret it deeply.

If Turkey's right to elect İmamoğlu is taken away, the nation will deliver a very heavy slap, just as it did in past elections. We will do whatever falls to us so that the nation can deliver that slap.