CHP leader Özel gives Erdoğan a deadline for 're-candidacy': 'Do not come after that date'

CHP leader Özgür Özel spoke about current politics and the potential re-candidacy of President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Speaking exclusively to Murat Yetkin of Yetkin Report, Özel stated that he wants to go down in CHP history as the chairman who brought the party to power after Bülent Ecevit. He added that he has no intention of taking the penalty kick himself at the last minute; rather, whoever is ready at that moment will be the presidential candidate, and this will be decided not by him, but by party boards according to the new charter.

Clarifying the incident involving Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş at the Charter Congress, Özel said, "The mistake was ours; there was no malice, but there was a mistake. We talked. There is no resentment."

DEADLINE FOR ERDOĞAN'S CANDIDACY

Özel answered the questions as follows:

You are receiving criticism because you said Erdoğan could be a candidate again. Why do you feel the need to say this?

I am watching the criticisms with surprise. Last year, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled that this would be Erdoğan's second term. The Constitution says two terms, meaning if it ends in its normal 5-year flow, it is impossible for him to be a candidate again. Since it is his second term, he cannot be a candidate again even if he dissolves the Parliament himself. However, if the Parliament decides on an election, Article 116 of the Constitution says he can be a candidate for one time only. If there is an attempt to get a parliamentary decision, the AK Party plus MHP have around 330 votes, but 360 votes are required. In other words, they cannot do it. They need to come to us for this.

DO NOT COME THREE MONTHS BEFORE

But you are saying he can be a candidate despite the Constitution. Isn't that a contradiction?

That is where the problem lies. Both our base and opposition voters are calling on us for an early election. We are doing that. But wanting an early election on one hand and saying he cannot be a candidate on the other is contradictory, because according to Article 116, if the parliament decides, he can be a candidate for the election. I think (Erdoğan's) candidacy last time was unconstitutional, but the YSK made a decision on this matter, and you know these decisions are final. Furthermore, if you field a candidate against him when he runs, and you go to the ballot box as a voter and cast your vote, you are already accepting that it is his second term. In this case, while he is in his second term, if the Parliament decides on an early election—not by his own will—he can be a candidate one more time; the constitution is very clear on this. We are already of the opinion that these five years are controversial. But we are saying, do not come to us three months or six months before the normal term of the election.

DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 2025

What are you saying?

We are saying, let's divide these five years in two; two-and-a-half years from us, two-and-a-half years from you. I say, come, when your two-and-a-half years are up, bring it to Parliament and let's go to the election. This brings us to October 2025. We are saying, if Mr. Erdoğan wants to be a candidate, he should not come to us after November 2025. That won't happen. We are here until the two-and-a-half years are up, but not after.

Doesn't this sound a bit like gambling?

This is a sign of our self-confidence. We trust ourselves. If he trusts himself, he should come. He should come in September or October, but not after November.

METROPOLL SURVEY

You mentioned self-confidence, but it appears you have started to fall behind in the MetroPoll survey. Doesn't this bother you?

MetroPoll is a well-established institution; the friends we asked say there might be a sampling error there. It can happen sometimes; it is normal. I believe we will see it improve in the coming months. Because, look, we have 7 surveys that we follow regularly. In five of them, the gap between us and the AK Party is widening; in one, the gap appears to be narrowing; and in one, we have fallen behind. We also conduct our own measurements, and I attach great importance to this.

Measurement is expensive work...

Look, let me tell you where I found the money. Setting up a rally stage, with sound systems and such, costs around 5.5 million liras today. We held 105 rallies in the last elections. I held 99 of them from the top of our party bus. We saved approximately 550 million liras. A large part of this money was allocated as a measurement and evaluation budget, and some of it to party organizations.

WHO WILL TAKE THE PENALTY KICK?

You have a much-discussed analogy. Mansur Yavaş is the right winger, Ekrem İmamoğlu is the left winger, and you are the coach. But on the other hand, there are those who express distrust, saying, "He will take the penalty kick himself at the last minute." What do you say?

There is no such thing as me taking the penalty kick at the last minute. When that day comes, whoever is the most ready will take it. We are marching toward power; we believe in this. Today is Tuesday, we are one day closer to a CHP government than yesterday, and we are working for this. Our party is a party that values its history. Look, in the AK Party, they will barely let the founding members through the door. We hold our leader, who served as our chairman for 9 years, in high regard. Do you know how I want to go down in CHP history?

MY GOAL IS ATATÜRK'S WILL

You said coach, but...

I want to go down in our party history as the chairman who brought the CHP back to power after Bülent Ecevit. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded our party. We are the trustees of his legacy. But we could not keep his will. One year ago, on September 9, 2023, I put my head between my two hands and said, "We could not keep the will." My entry into this path within myself dates back to that day. Bringing the CHP back to power is my greatest political goal; it will be my greatest pleasure. You mentioned the penalty kick. I will not decide alone who will be ready that day; we will decide together with our party boards. I attach great importance to the article in our new charter regarding the determination of the presidential candidate.

MANSUR YAVAŞ: THERE IS A MISTAKE, NO MALICE

I wanted to come to that. Of all the things from the Congress, Mansur Bey's exit remained in the public's mind the most. Both you and Ekrem Bey tried to win him over. What happened there?

We made a mistake there. There was no malice, but there was a mistake. Ekrem Bey had applied to speak on the first day. But when the program dragged on the first day, it was left to the second day. When I looked at the program, I saw that Mansur Bey was not on it, and I immediately said, ask him, if he wants to speak, let him speak. It was an organizational error. Then we talked again; there is no resentment between us.

VERY RARE IN CHP HISTORY

Well, let's come to the Congress. Do you think it provided the benefit you hoped for to your party, for example, while the primary election debates were ongoing?

Our party emerged from the Congress stronger. First of all, we have been working on the charter for months, starting from the grassroots. Our entire party organization saw the charter. We consulted all our previous chairmen. We consulted Kemal (Kılıçdaroğlu) Bey both beforehand and explained it, and we asked for his opinions on the final draft. (He shows the messages on his mobile phone.) Look, I sent it at 18:56, and the message that it was received came at 18:57. Article 52 regarding the primary election, which was reflected to the public as controversial, was the article with the most dissenting votes. Do you know how many votes it passed with? Out of 1173 delegates, only 36 voted against it. In fact, when our friends objected to the show of hands, it was counted one by one, and most of the articles were passed unanimously, which is very rare in CHP history. That article alone passed with a 97 percent majority; the average was 99 percent. The Ankara, İzmir, and Adana organizations, which showed the toughest opposition against us in our election congress, were almost fully on our side this time; I attach great importance to this.

WE DID NOT CRUSH OR UPSET THE ORGANIZATION

What do you attribute this situation to?

First, I attributed it to the fact that the party is locked on the goal of power and that our party members now want to focus on this goal rather than internal debates. It was seen that calculations such as "so many delegates are on the side of so-and-so" turned out to be empty. It was understood that artificial debates do not have a serious response at the base. I also attribute it to the importance we give to the organization. The CHP organization saw that it was valued and that its opinion was taken into account. A friend of ours made the assessment after the Congress that "we have not upset or crushed the organization." Look, there were 72 consultants in our party. Not many people knew what they were doing. We parted ways. 24 rooms became vacant at the Headquarters. We allocated the entire 4th floor to provincial and district chairmen. Our provincial and district chairmen who come to Ankara now have offices. Secretaries, computers, television, tea, coffee, whatever is needed. Are they going to have a meeting with someone in Ankara? They no longer meet in hotels or such; they come to their own party and meet in the meeting halls.

WE ARE HITTING THE FIELD

What's next?

Yesterday (September 9), we held the first MYK meeting after the Congress. We will start creating the roadmap within 15 days and prepare for the Program Congress; it may take 8 months to 1 year. From agriculture to foreign policy, from administration to health and education, what does the CHP say? How does the CHP want to govern Turkey? We will hit the field. Not just for protest and demand rallies. In 81 provinces and 973 districts, we will first collect what the citizens want, and then we will start explaining it.

News Source: 12punto