Özgür Özel on 'elections': The public squares are crying out for elections

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel answered questions from journalists in Ankara. 

Highlights from Özel's statements are as follows:

'YOU HAVE LEFT THEM UNABLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET BY CLAIMING THERE IS NO ELECTION'

“The technical assessment made by the President regarding early elections is correct. There is no such thing as an early election; the renewal of elections happens either by his own decision—in which case he cannot be a candidate again—or by the decision of 360 deputies in Parliament. In that case, because the decision made by the YSK last time allowed for this term to be considered a second term, he can be a candidate once more. Therefore, if Parliament makes a decision, elections can be renewed. If you ask when this should be, we believe a decision should be made tomorrow and elections should be held two months later. But as accurate as his technical assessment is, his political assessment is equally inaccurate. He says there will be no elections for 4 years, everyone should plan accordingly. Well, because there is no election, there is no raise for the minimum wage, and the lowest pension is 10 thousand liras. Those who talked about raising the minimum wage every 3 months last year are now saying they should get by on this salary for another six months. Today's 17 thousand liras is equivalent to 13 thousand liras in January, and they say let's not give a raise for another six months. Go ahead and try to manage your budget with 17 thousand liras. Such a calculation is impossible. All retirees, all minimum wage earners, all farmers, and all tradespeople, whether they are AKP or MHP supporters, are in a miserable state. How are we supposed to make our calculations? What is the defensible side of distributing money freely when it's election time, and then making the nation suffer for 4 years and forcing them to swallow bitter pills! We are making our calculations based on the nation. We say if you don't give a raise to the minimum wage and people cannot make ends meet, there will be an election. It is not me saying this; the public squares are crying out for elections. Before we even discuss the early election agenda, the workers and retirees in the squares are calling for early elections. Because you have left them unable to make ends meet by claiming there is no election.

'I WILL NOT SAY LET'S HAVE AN ELECTION'

In my meeting with him, I stated these four main topics and also provided the solutions. Apart from this, I also mentioned the steps that need to be taken in the country in terms of democracy. If those steps are taken and steps are taken to provide some relief to the nation's troubles... I said I would not use the March 31 local election results as a pretext and say 'I am the first party, let's have an election.' But what can we do if the nation wants it? If the retirees you didn't give a raise to and the producers whose products you didn't buy at their value are rebelling, what is our fault in this? The only fault is yours!

'THERE WILL BE NO SOFTENING IN THE OPPOSITION AS LONG AS YOU OPPRESS THE CITIZENS'

I would like to point to Mehmet Şimşek as the person responsible, just like you do, but I am only repeating your words; you were the one saying 'I' am responsible for everything. You need to hear the voice of the citizen; they shouted 'we cannot make ends meet' from your hometown of Rize. There cannot be such insensitivity while all of Turkey is miserable due to poverty. We will make our calculations based on what the nation is doing, so nobody should take offense.

If poverty, unemployment, and your failure to keep promises are being discussed everywhere today, your attempt to distract the agenda is something else. One of you wants poverty not to be discussed, the other wants Sinan Ateş. We were there on Monday, we will be there again tomorrow; we just saw Kılıçdaroğlu off to the hall. We, the entire CHP, are following it, but you are not hearing that cry. The funeral of the former head of the Ülkü Ocakları is politically stalled in the middle of the capital. You don't touch it because your partner doesn't touch it, you don't bring justice there, and then you say the opposition is creating an artificial agenda. If Sinan Ateş is an artificial agenda, if unemployment and poverty are artificial agendas, then what is your agenda? We will continue to talk about the agenda of the citizens, the nation, and the people, no matter how uncomfortable they get. We will not lose our decorum, but nobody should take offense; how are you talking about normalization now? Because they see that as long as they oppress the citizens, there can be no softening in the opposition; we have no intention of such a thing. They can fight with me as much as they want, but we will fight the citizens' fight, friends.

TUIK CRITICISM

Even according to the data of the statistical institute that does not upset Tayyip Bey, the minimum wage has eroded by 3 thousand 850 liras so far. They say it will fall starting tomorrow, as if oil, mines, or gold were found and it will drop. You made such nonsense around this time last year; monthly inflation was very high. Inflation is high again this month, but a slight decline will be seen from next month due to the base effect; they are trying to deceive the citizens. They are trying to explain the base effect as a 'goose effect' to the citizens they have turned into plucked geese. There is no such thing. As long as inflation is positive, it means the cost of living is increasing.

Today, Turkey is paying the price for the harm the AK Party has done to Turkey just to win one more election, even if by a narrow margin. You took from the poor and gave to the rich, and we are paying the price for that.

News Source: 12punto