Confession from Ali Babacan regarding the 2023 elections! 'I called 5 ministers and congratulated them'

DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan made statements regarding the agenda on the "Anketler Konuşuyor" (Polls are Speaking) program broadcast on TİVİ6. While criticizing foreign policy after 2015, Babacan said that some individuals who took office after the 2023 elections gave him hope.

Babacan was part of the Table of Six in the 2023 general elections, and the DEVA Party entered the elections on CHP lists.

"I CALLED 5 INDIVIDUALS AND CONGRATULATED THEM"

Reminding that he left the government in 2015, Babacan argued that serious mistakes were made in foreign policy during the 2016-2023 period. Stating that he called Hakan Fidan, İbrahim Kalın, Yaşar Güler, Cevdet Yılmaz, and Mehmet Şimşek, who took office in the cabinet formed after the 2023 elections, Babacan said the following:

"I mean, we went through a terrible period where things were done that really caused great harm to the country—you know the saying, 'one fool throws a stone into a well, and forty wise men cannot get it out.' But after the 2023 elections, with Hakan Fidan becoming Minister of Foreign Affairs, İbrahim Kalın becoming head of the MIT, and General Yaşar Güler becoming Minister of National Defense—who were a team that worked in harmony among themselves—we saw a period of recovery again.

In other words, after that six or seven-year period of truly terrible foreign policy between 2016 and 2023, there is an effort to abandon mistakes, repair the wounds, and put Turkey back on the track it should be on. After the 2023 elections, the government was formed, right? In that formed government, on the economy side, there is Cevdet Yılmaz, the Vice President, and Mehmet Şimşek. On the foreign policy and security side, these three names, the three names I mentioned. These are people we know closely from before, people we have worked with. And frankly, their presence gave me hope, and I called all of these people and congratulated them. I said, 'Look, we lost the election, you won, but I am glad that you are in these positions,' I said to all five of these people."

HALUK LEVENT AND THE AHBAP INVESTIGATION

Touching upon the investigation conducted into Haluk Levent and AHBAP, Babacan argued that audits should be carried out in a timely manner. Stating that one should not pass judgment before the judicial process is completed, Babacan used the following expressions:

"If there are such large figures, if there are such major incidents, why haven't you investigated these until today? It is said to be during the earthquake; three and a half years have passed, why didn't you do anything during this time? If there are figures like ten million, one hundred million, there are many people in the state's audit units, from the Court of Accounts, there. There are many people in the state who understand accounting."

Emphasizing that audit mechanisms should be operated in a timely manner, Babacan drew attention to the importance of auditing well-known organizations at an early stage. Expressing that a state of law cannot be governed in this way, Babacan said, "I mean, the person at the head of the business must be rock solid. I mean, they must say, 'I will not steal, and I will not let anyone else steal, my friend.' They must say, 'I will come down hard on anyone who steals.' This is how it is solved, it cannot be solved any other way."

ALLIANCE MESSAGE

Speaking about the New Path Group and potential alliance efforts, Babacan stated that negotiations with different political parties and independent figures are ongoing.

"We are currently right in the middle of a process that is progressing step by step, thank God, regarding the construction of a new alternative. Our priority in this new alternative construction is the political parties with which we can act together and be in the same alliance. I mean, this will also expand phase by phase, it seems so, thank God."

Babacan added that they are open to meeting with all political structures that adopt a clean management approach and are sincere in the fight against corruption.