Extraordinary convention statement from Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu! He gave a clear answer to the question 'Will you be a candidate?'

After the CHP decided to hold an extraordinary congress due to allegations regarding a trustee, the question of whether Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would seek the chairmanship again became a subject of debate. After CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated that he was exercising the authority granted by the party bylaws and that the party would convene an extraordinary congress in 15 days, the court process was being discussed on one hand, while the question of whether Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would be a candidate again came to the agenda on the other.

Following those discussions, Kılıçdaroğlu spoke for the first time. Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk reported his conversation with Kılıçdaroğlu in his column today as follows:

WILL YOU BE A CANDIDATE?

The extraordinary congress that the CHP will hold on April 6 seems to be overshadowed by other events. It is said that there is a possibility that the court might impose an injunction on the congress. Even if it is said, this does not seem possible. When the congress decision was made, Kılıçdaroğlu had made the following statement:

“The Republican People's Party is the foundation, the liberation, and the hope. It is the first resistance and the final fortress that cannot be captured. It cannot be subjected to unlawful interventions. I congratulate our party's esteemed chairman and our headquarters administration for the extraordinary congress decision they have taken. We will overcome these dark and difficult days together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder.”

I asked Kılıçdaroğlu in various ways whether he would be a candidate for the chairmanship at the congress, and he said the following:

“Since my first chairmanship, I have never come out and said, ‘I am a candidate for chairman.’ In other words, I have not spoken saying I will be a candidate for chairman. What I have to say is that the party should hold a democratic congress. I had published a congratulatory message because the decision to hold a congress with permission was taken. Therefore, I stand behind that message. It was the right decision taken. I have never had an expression anywhere saying, ‘I am aspiring to candidacy, to the chairmanship.’ Whoever the congress elects, that is the right thing.”