AKP's election assessment: 'The element that governs Turkey is democracy, the ballot box'

Çelik held a press conference while the Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting was ongoing. Regarding the fire tragedy in Istanbul, Çelik said, "We are following the incident in all its aspects. It is a fire that broke out in an entertainment venue. There are various reports regarding this, and assessments are being made. Our Governor is there. Our President is constantly receiving information. There are detentions. We hope that there will be no further loss of life."

Çelik stated that the March 31 local elections were held with a maturity befitting the history of democracy and thanked everyone who contributed to the process. Çelik congratulated everyone elected as a result of the elections, which are an indispensable element of democracy, regardless of their party—district and provincial mayors, municipal council members, provincial general assembly members, neighborhood heads (muhtars), and council members—and wished them success in their duties.

"THE ELEMENT THAT GOVERNS TURKEY IS DEMOCRACY, THE BALLOT BOX"

Emphasizing that every election is a festival of democracy, Çelik said, "The fact that our nation expresses itself through the ballot box, and that it can choose the administration, the central government, and local government through the ballot box, is Turkey's greatest strength. The element that governs Turkey is democracy, the ballot box. This continues to be our greatest strength at a time when there is a democratic decline all over the world.

Of course, besides every election being a festival of our democracy, it also has an aspect that deepens and institutionalizes our democracy. As a result of all this rooting and institutionalization, our democracy has gained strength once again through these elections.

Our democracy has taken root once again, and as a result, the winners have been our citizens, who are the true owners of democracy. We always state here that our citizens are the masters of political ideas. The fact that our citizens express their appreciation and warnings regarding the political institution through the ballot box, and that they realize these messages given through the ballot box in this way, will continue to be Turkey's greatest strength as it moves towards the Century of Turkey. In this context, we express that we will read and address the messages regarding our party from the March 31 elections in the clearest and most in-depth manner," he said.

"WE WILL ADDRESS IT IN DEPTH"

Stating that the March 31 elections will be a turning point in terms of the path to be followed and the policies to be produced in the coming period, Çelik said, "We have appeared before the nation 18 times so far with this election, and we have always been met with the favor of our nation. We express our gratitude for all the favor shown so far. In this election, we will show our best efforts in a very strong way to do better in places where high favor was shown and to be worthy of this favor. Of course, there are places where we had results we did not desire and where we could not reach the results we desired.

Regarding these places, we will address in depth and in all its dimensions why the result is like this and why our nation's assessment turned out this way. Because we are a party founded by the nation. We are a political movement brought into existence by the nation. As the AK Party and the People's Alliance, we have a political understanding that does not just listen to the nation's voice while coming to power or taking office and then open our ears to other voices after taking office, but rather listens only to the nation's voice throughout the entire process, throughout all the processes we manage, and throughout all the processes where our nation gives us authority.

Of course, we will evaluate this by embracing the truths that are appreciated more and making them stronger. But of course, our nation has made warnings in places where we could not reach the results we desired. There is criticism, there are objections. All of these are welcome. It is our duty to receive and evaluate this message in all its dimensions. It is a requirement of our democratic understanding. Receiving the nation's message is a requirement of political honor," he said.

"IT IS A ROADMAP FOR US"

Stating that he was at the AK Party headquarters during the hours when the ballot boxes started to be opened on election day, Çelik said, "We started to evaluate this from the moment the first results started to come in. And we continue our efforts to receive this message correctly and to evaluate our nation's objections in their proper place. The AK Party boards will continue to produce policies appropriate to this in a way that all messages will be received to fulfill their responsibility. The message our citizens give every time is actually a roadmap for us. It constitutes our signs on the road in an indispensable way in terms of showing what we will do for the future.

Therefore, all election results, in all provinces, districts, towns, in the smallest unit, in neighborhoods, and in each ballot box, are being addressed, and all our units have started their work so that the message given by our nation is well understood and internalized by our party, and that this continues to guide our policy production. Here, undoubtedly, the essential thing for the AK Party is always to listen to the voice of the street in the most accurate way. We have studies that we have done over the years regarding this.

With all these studies, we continue these works with the awareness that our citizens are the masters of our ideas and that they are the only democratic citizens who will grade us. And when our citizens show their will, we submit to it. We welcome this with great respect. We cannot have any objections or criticisms regarding this. The right to object and the right to criticize belong to the nation. The institution that needs to listen to this is the political institution and political parties. Therefore, let no one have any doubt that we will seriously address the results that express a decline that our nation has put forward with this whole picture in this process, and that we will restructure politics according to our nation's demands and our citizens' warnings in the coming period," he said.

Pointing out that different social segments gave messages in the elections, Çelik said, "These messages will be put in their place and evaluated correctly. Starting from the AK Party Headquarters, starting from all our authorized boards, it will permeate our entire style of politics down to our provinces, districts, and even the smallest units."

Çelik emphasized that the most important agenda is the revitalization of the earthquake zone, the complete return of life there to normal, and the healing of wounds. Çelik announced that they would support the elected mayors in the work they will do for the nation and in producing beneficial services. Çelik said that they will continue to address the election process and election results within the framework of the Election Affairs Presidency, Local Governments Presidency, and Strategy Board at the MYK.

"CITIES ARE STARTING TO BE BURNED AND DESTROYED"

Regarding a question about the streets becoming chaotic after the mayoral elections in Van passed from the DEM Party to the AK Party, Çelik said, "The Provincial Election Board made such a decision because the necessary conditions were not met. This is not an area where the political sphere can intervene. Here, the Provincial Election Board and later the Supreme Election Council (YSK) are authorized. If they are going to object, the objection mechanisms are clear.

The interesting area is this, of course. It is said, 'Let us show our democratic reaction.' Then cities start to be burned and destroyed. And there is an attack on the police. Everyone has the right to show their democratic reaction.

Protesting democratically, gathering, these are everyone's rights. But turning this into acts of violence has no place in a democracy. There is no connection to turning this into an attack on police forces. The ways of objection within the system are clear. Everyone makes their objection. The final decision is already made by the YSK," he said.

"CONGRESS PROCESS WAS NOT DISCUSSED"

In response to a journalist's question, "Was the congress process discussed in the MYK?", Çelik replied, "Only the election agenda is being evaluated in this MYK. The congress process was not discussed in any way. It is a MYK focused entirely on the election process. It is an evaluation MYK aimed at understanding more deeply how the election went, the process, and what message our nation gave regarding why the election results were like this for our party.

Changes in authorized boards are at the discretion of our President. It is always possible for our President to have the authority and discretion to do this as the chairman in terms of our charter. But these issues were not brought to the agenda in the MYK," he answered.

Upon a journalist's question regarding the opposition's calls for early elections, Çelik said, "There is no logic to these calls. The general election was held during the May 14-28 process. The Presidential Cabinet and our President have a 5-year mandate. There is more than 4.5 years left in the coming period. During all this period, the Presidential office and the Cabinet will fulfill their duties with the authority given by the nation. This election is a local election. This is about giving authority to local governments," he said.