Altaylı's 'Sine-i Millet' warning from prison: What happens if all opposition MPs resign? 'Don't be naive...'

Journalist Fatih Altaylı, who was arrested due to comments made on his YouTube channel, has been held at Marmara (Silivri) Prison for 35 days.

In his written program today, Altaylı shared the dialogues that took place during an open visit with CHP İzmir MP Tuncay Özkan at the prison.

"I KNOW WHO HAD KEMAL BEY WRITE THAT"

Altaylı used the following expressions regarding his meeting with Özkan:

“They said there was an MP visit, so we went to the open meeting room. Tuncay Özkan was in front of me. When Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was showering me with insults, I had said, 'I know who had him write this.' Tuncay had sent a message saying, 'If you meant me, I haven't seen Kemal Bey for months.' He repeated this during his visit. I hadn't meant him anyway.”

THE 'SINE-İ MİLLET' DEBATE IN POLITICS

Altaylı stated that they moved on to evaluations about politics as the meeting continued. Conveying his belief that Erdoğan would not be warm to an early election, Altaylı noted that Özkan presented a different idea:

“‘Erdoğan won't hold an early election; it will never happen before 2027,’ I said. Tuncay, however, had a proposal. ‘Let all opposition MPs and municipalities resign at the same time. This would cause a major legitimacy crisis, and the government would be forced into an early election.’”

Stating that he laughed at this idea, Altaylı continued as follows:

“‘Don't be naive. Erdoğan has no concern for legitimacy. He would hold by-elections to replace those who resigned, increase the number of MPs, and continue on his way,’ I said.”

"SINE-İ MİLLET WOULD BRING A CONSTITUTIONAL TRAP, NOT AN EARLY ELECTION"

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel had also previously approached the 'sine-i millet' (returning to the people/mass resignation) proposal with distance, stating that this strategy would backfire. Özel's statements included the following:

“The structure we are facing is not a mature, digested, or moral structure. If the opposition does not participate in the by-elections to be held when you have your MPs resign, the government will fill all those seats. This would provide them with the opportunity for constitutional change without a referendum. One does not prepare the ground for such a situation. It would gift them a constitutional majority, not an early election.”