Breaking News... First statement from DEM Party after visiting Özgür Özel: 'We are ready to take on any responsibility'

A delegation led by DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan visited CHP Chairman Özgür Özel in his office at the TBMM at 13:30.

Ayşegül Doğan, Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki, and Sezai Temelli accompanied Bakırhan during the meeting, while the CHP delegation included Murat Emir and Sezgin Tanrıkulu alongside Özgür Özel.

JOINT STATEMENT AFTER THE MEETING

Following the visit, the two leaders appeared before the cameras to make statements.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated the following:

"This is our Parliament, where we have existed in politics, where we are known, and where I served as group deputy chairman and then group chairman for the longest period in the history of the Assembly. It also hosts the headquarters of the Republican People's Party, just as it did on the very first day the party was founded. The first office of the headquarters was in the First Parliament. Conditions required it then, and today our chairman's office and group executive board room in the Assembly function as our party's headquarters. We said this yesterday.

Today, we started our first working day. We held our first group meeting with our deputies yesterday evening. Today, we started our first working day and received a very valuable visit. The esteemed Co-Chair of the DEM Party, which has the most seats in the Assembly after the Republican People's Party, Tuncer Bakırhan, and his valuable delegation visited us here. This valuable solidarity visit on this very important and critical day is also very important for us. I thank them once again and leave the floor to the esteemed Co-Chair."

BAKIRHAN'S REACTION TO “ABSOLUTE NULLITY”

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan expressed the following in his statement:

"Dear friends, today we visited Mr. Özgür and his delegation with our own delegation. We had a good conversation. We exchanged views. Now I will convey my thoughts regarding this visit to you.

With the decision of absolute nullity, democracy in Turkey is once again facing a political crisis. The images that emerged due to police violence during the implementation of the absolute nullity decision yesterday are, in a word, shameful and unacceptable. We do not accept this. Using pepper spray, pressurized water, and plastic bullets against the main opposition party is a democratic disgrace and a legal scandal. We clearly condemn this attack on the Republican People's Party and I want to state that we absolutely do not accept it.

The peoples of Turkey have always taken a stance in favor of democracy during such periods. The past shows this as well. To date, the peoples of Turkey have not consented to any intervention in politics. Triggering social fault lines through the judiciary and fueling political polarization is the greatest evil that can be done to this country. As lawlessness grows, social division deepens. Democracy is the strongest principle that will keep us together. We must embrace the principle of democracy during this process."

“WE WISH FOR THE CHP TO OVERCOME THIS PROCESS WHILE PRESERVING ITS INTEGRITY”

Bakırhan made the following assessments in the continuation of his statement:

"At the root of the political crises we are experiencing lies a lack of democracy and democratic politics. There is only one way out of this; this regime must be equipped with law and must be democratized. As long as the law ceases to be a guarantee, none of us will find ourselves on a secure political ground.

Furthermore, the world and the region are experiencing a great upheaval. Turkey should not spend its energy on political tensions during this process. It should grow social peace, democracy, and freedoms. The way to do this is very clear; it is justice for all, democracy for all. In every period where justice and democracy are not taken as a basis, the ground for social peace is further damaged. Yet, the guarantee of social peace is democracy, and its insurance is the law. Again, we wish for the Republican People's Party to emerge from this difficult period while preserving its integrity."

“WE ARE READY TO TAKE ON ANY RESPONSIBILITY”

Stating that the DEM Party is ready to take responsibility during this process, Bakırhan said:

"I want to state that we, as the DEM Party, are ready to take on any responsibility that falls to us in this process. We believe that the Republican People's Party can overcome this process with its own democratic maturity without an outside hand. Our principled stance is clear.

The fate of political parties is not determined in courthouse corridors, but by the will of their members, the decisions of their delegates, and the preferences of their voters. We do not see any intervention outside of democratic mechanisms as politically legitimate. We believe that the Republican People's Party will overcome this process with the will of a congress to be held on a democratic basis. In this historical period, it is our common responsibility to keep political channels open and to take the democratic will as a basis.

With these wishes, I once again convey my get-well wishes due to what has happened. I also celebrate the holiday of you, the esteemed members of the press, and the Republican People's Party family in advance."