CHP's Mersin rally begins: Ekrem İmamoğlu's message read

The Republican People's Party (CHP) 'Defending the National Will' rallies continue. The CHP's stop today was Mersin. Tens of thousands of Mersin residents flocked to the rally at Yenişehir Square.

We are holding our ‘Defending the National Will’ rally in Mersin. https://t.co/AkRo6ewVxK

— CHP ???? (@herkesicinCHP) April 26, 2025

The CHP's Yenişehir District Chair read a message from Ahmet Özer, the elected mayor of Esenyurt.

"THE PEOPLE HAVE AWAKENED AND ARE MARCHING TOWARD POWER"

The message is as follows:

"Even though I am physically behind four walls here, my heart beats with you there. Your presence gives us strength. On March 31, you wrote an epic under the leadership of our Chairman Özgür Özel. You shattered the glass ceiling, but unfortunately, those who have not received their share of democracy could not digest this. They imprisoned us with cruelty, along with our presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. Fear is of no use to the inevitable; the genie is out of the bottle. The people have awakened and are marching toward power. The squares are overflowing, our people are saying 'Enough.' Those who have lost the consent of the people have also lost the legitimacy to govern. They are trying to delay their departure by using the judiciary as a stick, but it is in vain."

"CHP MUNICIPALITIES ARE SHAKING THE GOVERNMENT"

After Özer's message was read, Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer, who was called to the stage, began his speech after greeting the citizens attending the rally:

"Everyone who objects to this administration is here. Özgür Özel will not only address Mersin here. We are raising our voices for justice. Poverty is rampant. For 23 years, all resources have dried up. Their problem is that CHP mayors are loved by the people. CHP municipalities are shaking the government. On March 31, Turkey was painted red because the mayors won the hearts of the people. The religion of the state is justice. If the religion of the state has been destroyed, it means justice has vanished. Let them come at us; we are not afraid, they are the ones who are afraid. They are afraid of you, they are afraid of the nation."

İMAMOĞLU'S MESSAGE READ

Following Vahap Seçer's speech, Ekrem İmamoğlu's message was read. The message was read by the CHP Mersin Provincial Chair.

İmamoğlu's message is as follows:

"People of Mersin, as vast as the Mediterranean, as strong as the Taurus Mountains, my heart beats with the same excitement as yours. I am writing this letter from the dungeons of Silivri to everyone across Mersin whose heart beats for this country. Mersin is the city of national will, the symbolic city of Turkey's brotherhood. Mersin is the city of those who produce, resist, and share. Mersin, which should be a strategic city for Turkey, is not receiving the investment it deserves.

We did not set out on this path for a seat, but to change a system. This system must change. These people deserve better. They are trying to stop our path with judicial coups. They may throw us into dungeons, but they cannot stop our resistance or the favor of the nation; they cannot keep us from our path. I trust our nation. This voice rising from Mersin will change the system. The ballot box will come, and a fair, free, and prosperous Turkey for everyone will emerge from that box."

Following İmamoğlu's message, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel took the stage.