Kılıçdaroğlu speaks before the party congress: 'If I had been elected, they would be by my side; now they are against me'

The Republican People's Party (CHP) is preparing to hold its 38th Ordinary Congress on November 4-5. Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu made important statements in the CHP, which is experiencing active days ahead of the congress.

"I DID IT TO STRENGTHEN EKREM BEY'S HAND"

Responding to questions from İpek Özbey of Sözcü, Kılıçdaroğlu spoke about his offer to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu to chair the congress, saying, "I made this offer so that Ekrem Bey's hand would be strengthened. So that his hand would be stronger in the elections in Istanbul."

"I WILL VISIT BABACAN AFTER THE CONGRESS"

Kılıçdaroğlu's 'secret' meeting with DEVA Party district chairs caused controversy in the political arena. Regarding allegations that he promised the mayoral candidacy to DEVA Party Esenyurt District Chair Halis Kahriman, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "I did not make any promises to anyone." The CHP leader stated that he would also visit DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan after the congress.

"I AM A CANDIDATE TO LEAVE THE SHIP SAFELY AT PORT"

Stating, "I never said 'I am a candidate,' but if the organization nominates me, I am a candidate," Kılıçdaroğlu said, "To leave the ship safely at port. I will hand it over to a knowledgeable, experienced, good social democrat. We must maintain the century-old accumulation of the CHP. It is an accumulation filtered through a sieve."

Defending the decision to give 39 parliamentary seats to 4 parties in the Nation Alliance from his own lists, Kılıçdaroğlu said, "If I had been elected, they would be by my side; now they are against me."

The full interview is as follows;

Let's talk while it's fresh. You had a meeting with Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu on Thursday. You proposed him as the chair of the congress, and he accepted. Why did you offer it to İmamoğlu?

So that Ekrem Bey's hand would be strengthened. I made this offer so that his hand would be stronger in the elections in Istanbul.

Could you elaborate a bit?

That is all...

The 'change' advocates criticized you on many issues. Most of all regarding the alliances, the protocol made with Ümit Özdağ, and your giving of 39 parliamentary seats... Did you ever think, "The Nation Alliance was a mistake"?

No.

But it fell apart very quickly, everyone started blaming each other.

When the Republic is in this state, when the country is in this state, when education and the economy are in this state, what would you do? Wouldn't you come together with those who share the same ideals as you? Look at the founding of the Republic. Look at the friends of Gazi Mustafa Kemal. Did they come together to establish the Republic? They did. Even their worldviews were different, but they came together.

"WE WERE CRITICIZED MERCILESSLY"

So?

What else can you do other than come together to keep the Republic alive? We were criticized very mercilessly. I listened to everyone. A large part of it stemmed from prejudice. I listened to them too. It can be criticized, but with common sense... We won parliamentary seats in places where we hadn't been able to win any for many years. Can there be such ruthlessness? We didn't just deal with a political party; we dealt with a state bureaucracy that had come under the control of the government. They think everything was rosy and we just couldn't win. Well, they didn't even let us conduct an accounting. They didn't even give us the opportunity for that. Despite all this, I listened to everyone.

Where did you see the shortcoming?

We could have focused more on the rural areas where our votes were low. I have always been against large rallies. If the people who came to the election squares had worked in the rural areas and neighborhoods, if we had spent the energy we spent on the congress on the presidential election, we would have achieved a much different result. We...

News Source: 12punto