Oğuz Kaan Salıcı reacts to intra-party debates: He criticizes the headquarters

Following the 38th Ordinary Congress of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the referral of the lawsuit regarding the congress to the appellate process has brought up claims in party circles that a decision of "absolute nullity" could be reached and that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu could return to the chairmanship. During this period when these debates were heating up, a video published by Kılıçdaroğlu on social media drew reactions from the party and its followers.

Following the video published by Kılıçdaroğlu, CHP Istanbul MP Oğuz Kaan Salıcı made a statement sharing his views on the developments within the party. Although Salıcı did not directly pronounce Kılıçdaroğlu's name, he used harsh expressions against conflict of interest and polarization in the party in line with the atmosphere created after the video. Furthermore, Salıcı also clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the strategies implemented by the current party management.

In the statement he published on social media, Salıcı emphasized that while there may be different ideas for political struggle, it is necessary to meet on a common goal. He expressed his discomfort with the debates reaching a level that would harm the party. He stated:

“Great struggles are won not by everyone thinking the same, but by being able to meet on a common goal. However, I see with regret that the debate we are being dragged into is preparing the ground for division. For those who have forgotten, let us remember once again what division and harsh internal fights cost. It was 1994. I was a university student in Istanbul and was working on the local election campaign; it is in my memory as if it were yesterday. The SHP received 20 percent, the DSP 12 percent, and the CHP 1.4 percent of the votes; the social democrats were divided. Our party's current MP, Mr. İlhan Kesici, had received 22 percent as the ANAP candidate, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had emerged from that ballot box with 25 percent. Melih Gökçek had won Ankara in the same way. That fragmentation has been costing our country very dearly for 32 years.

In his statement, Salıcı reminded that the political fragmentations experienced in the past have resulted in heavy costs for the country and the party, and emphasized that in today's politics, the election threshold has risen to 50 percent and all democratic forces must come together.

“Moreover, in today's Turkey, the election threshold is 50 percent. There is no explanation for this fragmentation we are being dragged into when we need to come together with all democratic forces. A tree that rises alone attracts attention, but it is the forest that resists the storm. I ask everyone who runs to the fire with a canister of gasoline: Does the AKP want what is best for the CHP? Absolutely not. The only thing the AKP wants is for wood to be carried to the fire of discord. It is for the sounds of fighting to rise inside our home. Searching for enemies inside has no benefit to our political struggle. Everyone should come to their senses and see those who are rubbing their hands in the dream of our party's division.

The CHP deputy also emphasized in his criticisms of the headquarters management that one should think three times and speak once, that these criticisms do not mean they approve of the mistakes, and the importance of fighting against ethical weaknesses within the party. He included these lines:

“Our thinking three times and speaking once in the face of the strategic mistakes and heavy swerves of our Headquarters does not mean that we approve of the mistakes or that we are blind. People who cannot carry the weight of their office and who have political and moral weaknesses can be encountered in every political party. What is important is that we continue on our path by distancing ourselves from these elements without dividing.”

News Source: 12punto