Historic speech by Özgür Özel: 'Those who do not surrender, those who resist are here!'

The 39th Ordinary Congress of the Republican People's Party (CHP) continues on its second day at the Ankara Arena.

On the first day of the congress, the new party program was adopted. Changes were made to certain articles of the charter and regulations.

CHP leader Özgür Özel arrived at the congress hall at 10:15 AM with his wife, Dizem Özel. Özel sat side-by-side with Murat Karayalçın. Dilek İmamoğlu, wife of the detained Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and Muharrem İnce were also seated next to Özel.

In his speech at the congress, Özel responded without naming him to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who had called for purification within the CHP. Özel stated, "There is no place on this path for those who collaborate with the established order, those who are the voice of the dark system, and those who seek tasks not assigned by these organizations at other doors. If the Republican People's Party is to be purified, it will be purified from this mentality."

We are holding our 39th Ordinary Congress. #NowIsTheTimeForPower https://t.co/89EDjNm3XV

— CHP ???? (@herkesicinCHP) November 29, 2025

Highlights from Özel's statements are as follows:

“ATATÜRK’S SOLDIERS, THE GUARDIANS OF THE REPUBLIC ARE HERE”

“Those who keep the hearth of the father's home burning in 81 provinces and 973 districts are here. Those who open the door at the crack of dawn, those who put the tea on, those who keep that door open all day long are here. Atatürk’s soldiers, the guardians of the Republic are here. I welcome those who have come from all corners of the country to share in this great enthusiasm in the stands. Welcome, you have honored us. I also respectfully greet the valuable representatives of political parties in Turkey who honor our congress, their esteemed chairmen, all their members, the distinguished ambassadors and diplomats who grace our hall, and all our comrades who have come here from the Socialist International, the Party of European Socialists, and our sister parties around the world. Welcome, all of you.”

“WE ARE THE PARTY THAT BROUGHT DEMOCRACY AND THE BALLOT BOX”

“My dear fellow travelers, today is a day to remember who we are and to remind those who have forgotten. The Republican People's Party was born from the Societies for the Defense of Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia, that is, from the National Forces (Kuva-i Milliye). Our first congress was the Sivas Congress dated September 4, 1919. Our first delegates are the 41 heroic delegates of the Sivas Congress. The Republican People's Party is the party that organized first the liberation and then the establishment, brought equal citizenship and fundamental human rights to Turkey, carried our country into a multi-party democratic system; that is, it is the party that brought the ballot box to Turkey. It is the party that brought social democracy to power in the 1970s. Even if this party has not been in power for years, it is the party that recognizes no power other than the power of the nation, believes in no other power, and does not deviate a millimeter from the idea of democracy. There have been days when our party has paid heavy prices. It was closed down by the September 12 coup plotters. Its assets were seized. Our Chairmen were imprisoned. But it managed to be reborn from its ashes like a phoenix. No one has had the power to extinguish the fire lit by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and no one will in the future. The Republican People's Party is the party that guides Turkey and represents Turkey's founding will. When we have a congress, the country's agenda is that congress. Before every congress, a spirit of election, an election atmosphere prevails in the country. Our congresses carry the duty and responsibility of changing both the party and the country. You are the representatives of the 41 delegates at the Sivas Congress today. While some are trying to remove the ballot box in the country, you are carrying the burdens and responsibilities of our 2 million members and our 86 million citizens on your shoulders, directed from the ballot boxes we placed in neighborhoods to districts, from district congresses to provinces, and from provincial congresses to this hall. You have come to determine the cadres that will carry our party to power with the decision you will make at this congress. For this reason, I bow respectfully before the organization of the Republican People's Party and all its members, in the person of all our delegates who have come here with great discipline and determination to perform this duty on this important day. Welcome, I am glad we are fellow travelers with you, I am glad we are together.”

“WE WON PLACES THOUGHT TO BE MIRACULOUS”

“For two years, every day of yours has been spent in struggle, and it continues to be. Today is also the day for me to give an account of the past two years to you, to our congress. I am before you today with the inner peace of having kept the promises we made. At that turning point in history, at that congress at that turning point, we competed fairly, we raced fairly. After our congress, we prepared for our first elections in four months. We set out by trusting in women, youth, and science. We fit exactly 106 local election rallies into a short time. We trusted our organization, we practiced self-confident politics, and as we promised, we made our party the first party in Turkey after 47 years in the first election. We increased our 25 percent vote to 38 percent 10 months later without an alliance. With the support of our nation, we won places that were said to be 'unwinnable,' districts and cities that were thought to be miraculous. We won Kilis, Adıyaman, Kütahya, Afyon, Uşak, Kastamonu, my dear Manisa, Denizli, Bursa, and Balıkesir. That night, we gained the opportunity to serve 85 percent of the population with 411 mayoralties. We did not do this alone, yes, with our candidates, each more valuable than the other, but not alone. We succeeded together with our organization and our nation. We did not stop after the local elections. We toured our provinces. We held 21 public meetings. That was not enough; we warmed our party up to the streets and squares again. We held nine separate thematic rallies, from unemployed teachers to workers, from retirees to farmer meetings. We worked hard to strengthen our party's ties abroad. We assumed the role of Vice President of the Socialist International. We made a total of 20 visits to 11 countries.”

“WE DID NOT SURRENDER TO THOSE WHO SET OUR DIRECTION”

“After March 19, we moved to the phase of resistance against the coup. In 255 days, we met with a total of 11 million citizens in 72 actions in the squares. And in two years, we filled the squares 208 times in 62 provinces; we didn't just fill the squares, we overflowed from them together. We did not sit in Ankara. We did not practice Ankara-centered politics. We did not surrender to those who set our direction. We practiced nation-centered politics, and we included the nation in this politics, we made them partners in this politics. We had promised to increase participation in the father's home. We increased our membership number, which was 1.2 million two years ago, to exactly 2 million. We had expressed the need for a charter suitable for the new era. As a result of months of work, with the ownership of our 81 provincial chairmen and their great efforts, we created our new charter with a great consensus and put it into effect by adopting it almost unanimously. We opened the way further for youth and women. We strengthened the right of our organization and our members to have a say in candidacies. We had said that we would reshape our small congress. We formed our Organization Representatives Assembly and increased participation. We had promised a new program. We prepared our program, which we wove with effort for a year. We sent the reports that matured by working with civil society, unions, professional organizations, and opinion leaders, starting from the local level, from the district, from the province, first in 81 provinces, then in 923 districts, and then again in 81 provinces with provincial advisory boards, to Ankara. With the work of a wonderful team looking at the world from the right ground and the right perspective, we examined successful, social democratic programs that have carried social democrats to power, and we benefited from the parts suitable for us. Working together with 600 academics, 600 organization representatives, and 250 young friends outside of our youth and women's branches, we completed a study that satisfies the youth and women's branches, hears and sees young people and women outside the party, and brings them all together in the same text.”

“HİKMET AĞABEY PROMISED TO BE ON THE BUS SOON”

“May God have mercy on our General Chairmen from September 4-9; Altan Ağabey is looking at all of us from there with proud and longing eyes. We were together at the previous congress. We were together on the bus in Saraçhane. While making this charter, for example, collecting signatures from delegates, the determination that 'discussions about whether signatures were collected or not will get out of hand, will someone else be able to be a candidate? How much of it does the headquarters control' unnecessarily wears out the party and the current general chairman, with the suggestion of our Altan ağabey, I greet dear Hikmet Çetin, by giving the promise and good news here that our Hikmet President, we talked on the phone a little while ago, will be on the bus very soon. Our General Chairman. Together with Mr. Murat Karayalçın, who never left us alone, for example, by adding to our charter that 'The current General Chairman does not collect signatures, he is a candidate upon request. If he does not collect 70 signatures, he is not a candidate anyway. But the current general chairman never collects signatures, and those who are candidates can be candidates with 5 percent,' we added to our charter with the suggestion of our General Chairmen, which cuts off the discussions and acts as a fog effect on the agenda instead of the real agenda to be discussed, which is so useful when we use it this time. And with that idea of the September 4-9 Founding Week, with our delegates putting this into the charter, we celebrated our September 4-9 Liberation Week with enthusiasm again this year, referring to the September 4 Sivas Congress, and September 9, both the symbolic day when the country was saved from enemy occupation and the day our party was founded, and the day our closed party was re-established. And we talked and discussed our program, which emerged after a year of effort, all together. Let them do it, they split the screen in two, they appointed a trustee to the CHP's father's home in Istanbul, they attacked with 5,000 police. They did this exactly on September 8, the day we sent our program to this congress all together and gave it its final form. There were days when we raised our voices in defiance of every provocation and every kind of attack made against us, and those who tried to pull us into agendas other than the positive agenda, but with our belief that we are ready to raise the word, to attach importance to content, and that the cadres who will govern this country and the program that will govern this country are ready, we stood before our nation with determination, both with courage and fortitude. Thank God, seeing the demands coming from you all together yesterday, we brought the text here by incorporating the right suggestions even on the last day, in the last commission, and by complying with justified criticisms. After the discussions held here, we prepared our program unanimously with the 1,200 elected delegates coming from 81 provinces of the Republican People's Party and all its natural delegates. From now on, the Republican People's Party is ready to leave this hall saying 'Now is the time for power,' it is ready to march to power.”

“I CONSIDER IT A MATTER OF HONOR IN MY LIFE”

“We fulfilled our promise of change by taking all these steps. And now, as a party that has renewed its cadres, charter, and party program and trusts itself, we are walking into the future together. We are a cadre that won its first elections and has not met with defeat. And I consider it a matter of honor for myself to leave you by making a promise, as I did in the last congress, and to keep this promise. In the last congress, in this hall, at this podium, just like the late Ecevit did in the 1970s, I said that he brought his party out as the first in all elections he entered, two local and two general, that we would achieve this, and if we did not achieve this, we would not remain in this position. Four or five months after making this promise, it was my destiny to take the first step of this promise and to keep the promise we made in the first test. Now, from here, at our 40th congress, I promise before history. This congress is our party's last congress in opposition. The 40th congress will be our first congress in power. Now is the time for power. Now is the time for power. Now is the time for power. Now is the time for power. Are we ready for power? Are we ready for power? Are we ready for power? Now is the time for power. As the youth say, 'Power, power, power.'”

“THERE ARE THOSE WHO THINK THEY WILL PREVENT THE CHANGE WHOSE TIME HAS COME”

“My dear fellow travelers, today there are those before us who resist the will of the nation. There are those who think they will prevent a change whose time has come. We need to remember the deep wounds opened in this country in two years. After the local elections, while we were producing policy in our party on one hand, we produced services in our municipalities on the other. In a short time, the satisfaction rates from our municipalities rose far above the votes received in the local elections. Our party also continued to be the first party in all polls conducted. With the responsibility of being the first party, we strove to turn the direction of politics to the problems of the nation. We said 'This is normal,' and it was called normalization. We called those who did not call us during holidays and festivals out of respect for their voters. We greeted those who did not greet us at the martyr's funeral. We were guests of those who did not look at our faces at Anıtkabir, and we hosted them. We wanted to end the fighting and polarization in this country. The nation expects service from us, not fighting. We said, 'Hear the voice of the nation, read the letter the nation wrote at the ballot box.' This attitude of yours received great support from the citizens. Whatever happened, happened after this. To those who thought that the CHP's votes were entrusted and would return immediately after the election, and who saw the Republican People's Party in a better position every month, thinking that they were falling behind in the polls; they said, 'This process is benefiting the CHP, end this process. Or rather, don't end it, make them end it.' Fearing that this process would benefit the CHP, they chose to spoil the atmosphere of normalization. They returned to fighting and polarization. They showed from that day on that they could not do politics without being enemies. They wanted to cut the revenues of our municipalities through Social Security Institution debts. They gave instructions to their ministers on live broadcast to 'shake up the CHP municipalities.' Later, they resorted to a path never seen in our history. Tayyip Bey had realized that he could not compete politically with us. He no longer trusted himself or his party. He did not trust or believe in his main staff, his Women's Branches, or his Youth Branches. That is why he established a fourth branch that no party has. And he appointed a Deputy Minister, a political figure, as the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, contrary to the constitution, to head the AK Party Judiciary Branches. Because he no longer has the strength to compete politically with us. The AK Party does not have the courage to fight this organization; Tayyip Bey's only trust is the AK Party's Judiciary Branches. After the AK Party Judiciary Branches were established, the attacks began. For the first time, on October 30, 2024, they arrested our Esenyurt Mayor, dear Ahmet Özer. They appointed a trustee to Esenyurt, Turkey's largest district. Because we wanted an early election and because we saw that this process, which started with Esenyurt and continued with Beşiktaş, was a coup practice working step by step, we accepted this as a declaration of war. When valuable members of the press asked, 'What will you do from now on?', we said, 'They declared war. We were sitting at the table, they pulled an axe from under the table. Whoever is declared war upon, whoever is attacked, whatever structure or party it is, we will do what they would do from now on, we will fight.' We wanted an early election, we set out saying 'The candidate for an early election is determined early.' We announced that we would determine our candidate with a primary election on March 23. That was when they panicked even more. While the nation wanted an early election, they moved their coup preparations forward. One day after our President Ekrem applied for the primary election, on February 22, they opened an investigation into his 31-year-old diploma. On March 19, the faculty's board of directors was going to meet. They had not been able to convince the faculty administration of this unlawful, unbelievable decision. That is why they convened the university board of directors, whose job is to collect trash at the university and organize ring services, even though it was unauthorized, and they had the diploma cancelled by the university board of directors, which they had made their own through political appointments.”

“THE YOUNGEST WAS 18, THE OLDEST WAS 104, THEY WENT DOWN IN HISTORY”

“Five days before the primary election, at an iftar time, this unauthorized board cancelled the diploma. They were so afraid that they were not content with cancelling the diploma; hours after the cancellation, at a sahur time, they raided our President Ekrem's house with hundreds of police. One person at the top, with three prosecutors, three judges, and three secret witnesses, attempted a coup that will never be erased from the memory of this nation. This time, the coup plotters did not come with boots or tanks, but with the robes they wore. Then they wanted 'Everyone to be silent, no one to react.' They banned demonstrations, they blockaded the squares. They stopped buses, they closed subways. They removed bridges, they tied up ferries. They calculated everything, but they could not calculate the nation. Republican People's Party members gathered in front of the Vatan Security, and students gathered in Beyazıt Square. Both sides opened the barricades placed in front of them to protect their choice, to protect the ballot box, to protect their will and their future, and they met in Saraçhane. For seven days and seven nights, they gave strength to our voice rising from the same square, on the same bus, from the same microphone. They did not let the coup plotters pass. They repelled them from Saraçhane. Greetings and blessings to those who put their hearts into this struggle from their own hometown, province, or district, even if they were not there that day, to the 1.2 million people who were in Saraçhane on the evening of the 23rd and repelled the coup, and to those who gathered with 110,000 people despite the measures where they said 'Not even a thousand people can gather' and where we said 'Whatever happens on the first night will happen tonight' during the seven days and seven nights in Saraçhane. They had coincided the four-day detention period with the primary election on March 23. They said, 'They cannot hold the primary election while the candidate is in custody.' But these calculations did not hold. We placed the ballot box, and we also placed solidarity boxes next to the ballot box. We invited our nation, and 15.5 million of our citizens ran and came to the Republican People's Party, which has 2 million members, with the solidarity boxes placed next to it, and cast their votes. The youngest was 18, the oldest was 104. Of course, there were also those who threw the picture they drew at the age of six into the ballot box. There were those who came with their three-month-old baby in their womb, and those who climbed the stairs with two canes in their two hands. We had told them, 'Come, choose, go down in history.' They came, they chose, they went down in history. I bow respectfully before all of them.”

“I CHALLENGE YOU, BRING THE BALLOT BOX, LET THE NATION DECIDE”

“Today, they are afraid even of our candidate's voice in the subway, his picture on the wall, and his account on social media. I tell them once again from here: Ekrem İmamoğlu is our candidate. This is our Plan A, Plan B, and Plan Z. The legitimate way to fight him is to compete at the ballot box. Ekrem İmamoğlu is the nation's candidate. Whoever is the Palace's candidate should step forward if they trust themselves. If you are going to defeat Ekrem İmamoğlu, you must trust the nation and face him. I challenge you. You must trust your organization, not the arms of the judiciary. I trust my organization. I trust my nation. My candidate is here and my organization is here, where is the ballot box? I challenge you. Bring the ballot box, let the nation make the decision.”

“NO PERIOD CAN COMPETE WITH THE CRUELTY OF THIS PERIOD”

“Today, 15 of our mayors and fellow travelers are imprisoned. Their valuable families; spouses, children, mothers, fathers are all in this hall. They are entrusted to us and entrusted to the nation. They told lies, they made slanders. They did not get enough of lies and slander. They were able to write an indictment after exactly 237 days, but they could not stand behind the lies they told and made us discuss for eight months in the indictment. They could not write those lies in the indictment. They are being judged in the conscience of this noble nation with the indictment with which they will judge us. Because the nation saw how cruel the victims of the day are. Mr. Erdoğan is also uncomfortable when he sees these facts and says, 'You cannot explain it.' He attacks journalists, members of the press, and the pro-government press, he forces them. But how long can a lie stand against a truth; a slander against a reality? I present that video, which he is very uncomfortable with, to our nation once again upon general request. I appeal to the conscience of all our citizens. Can there be so many lies, so many slanders, so much violation of rights? As the late Erbakan said, even if their foreheads did not leave the ground in prostration for a lifetime, they could not pay this debt. This country has certainly seen many dark winters, many difficult times. But no period can compete with the cruelty of this period. I ask, who can freely express what they believe? They throw those who make a sound to Silivri, they seize the property of those who twitch an eyebrow. They pull the ears of those who say 'I wonder,' and then they are never seen around again. While journalists are being arrested, their friends are silent. While artists are lined up like a row of beads in the middle of the night and their dignity is played with, their other colleagues do not speak. While handcuffs are put on politicians, business people, and civil society representatives, others say, 'Let the snake that doesn't touch me live for a thousand years.' I ask those who are silent while millions are resisting and paying the price. Who taught you this silence, this helplessness? How did you get used to being silent about what is happening right next to you in these lands, which are kneaded with the value that 'he who is silent in the face of injustice is a mute devil,' instead of jumping up and leaving when your neighbor is there, and silently closing the door and turning your back? When did you forget how this country was saved? Since when did you forget that Seyit Onbaşı was not carrying a bullet on his back, but the fate of the nation? When did you forget that Nene Hatun was running not only to save wounded soldiers but to save the nation's dignity? I am calling out to those who sit with their remote control in their hand and their pajamas on. Today is the day to take to the streets, to flow into the squares. Today is the day of solidarity, of resistance. Today is the day to object to this dark system. Either you will sit at home in those pajamas and wait for your turn to come, or you will take to the squares and repel this coup with us. I am calling out to the person in pajamas sitting at home with the remote in their hand. Either you will take to the squares, you will face this coup, you will give strength to wherever you are invited, you will object, you will save the ballot box, the Republic. Or you will never regret it later. The squares are ours, the streets are ours, the struggle is ours, Turkey belongs to all of us. There is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us.”

“WE DEFEND DEMOCRATIC POLITICS AS A FRONT”

“I thank all the General Chairmen and political parties who visited us and supported us, first in Saraçhane and a day later at our Headquarters during the March 19 process. And I appeal to all our citizens, from whichever party they may be, March 19 is a civil coup. Although its visible target is the CHP, which is one of Atatürk's two great works, its real target is the Republic of Turkey, which is Atatürk's other work. If there is no ballot box, there is no Republic. If there is no democracy, there is no Republic. If there is no justice, if there is no law, there is no Republic. The imprisonment of the Co-Chairs of the DEM Party and the imprisonment of the Chairman of the Victory Party, the March 19 coup as a whole, is targeting the political institution, the people's right to choose and be governed by those they choose. That is exactly why we are defending not our party as a position, but democratic politics as a front. We invite everyone to defend not us, but their own existence and multi-party competition. I invite everyone to remember the democracy of those who say 'Let this party be closed, if it doesn't close, let the Constitutional Court be closed too' whenever they feel like it. I invite you not to fall into a Stockholm Syndrome, not to fall in love with our executioner whom we barely escaped from yesterday. As the squares shout without being silent; there is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us.”

“EVERYONE SHOULD LOOK AT THIS BANNER WELL…”

“Let me see that 'Free Future' banner, I will tell you something. This is the 'Free Future' banner opened by the delegation from Manisa here on this day of the congress two years ago. Everyone should look at this banner well. This banner is the Gömeç Youth Branch that left the hall last. Where are the people of Gömeç, are they here? The Gömeç Youth Branch took this banner as a souvenir. When I went to visit our Mayor in Gömeç to congratulate him, they welcomed me with this banner. This banner is kept as a souvenir in Gömeç. This banner appeared before me as a surprise from Manisa at the change congress, then it appeared before me in Gömeç. Then it appeared before me in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality indictment. The IMM indictment says, 'It is understood that they planned this in advance by opening a 'Free Future' banner.' The IMM indictment says, 'It is understood that when the 'Free Future' banner was opened, they planned to take over the power in the country by saying 'We will see beautiful days, sunny days' with one voice, to change the country's administration by saying 'We will see beautiful days' when entering the hall, and to make Ekrem İmamoğlu, whom the organization determined, the President of the country.' I say to those who wrote that indictment and those who had it written from here. What did you think? Beautiful days will come, these bad days will end. Beautiful days will come, sunny days. We will reach those beautiful days all together. We said 'Free Future,' and here we are. I am here. There will be an election, this nation will give the task, Ekrem İmamoğlu will be the President, and the Republican People's Party will be in power. We are here, we are before you. Whoever has the courage, come out against us.”

“WE PUT A STICK IN THE WHEEL OF THE ESTABLISHED ORDER”

“Let those who try to close the Republican People's Party know that; many snakes have tried to bite us. In the September 12 coup, Kenan Evren thought he could close this party. The nation again protected the legacy of the Gazi and broke the lock on the door. The 102-year-old giant plane tree, which draws its strength from the nation, stands tall. This plane tree has existed with our nation and will exist forever. And we are not the ones who reach out to this plane tree, which is a legacy from Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; the nation breaks them, the nation breaks them. Well, my dear fellow travelers. Why are we experiencing so many attacks, so many injustices? Look, there is an order that has been constructed in Turkey for years. We are facing an order that imposes its unchanging actors, politicians who resist the new generation, on the nation. The established order wants its own political construction not to be disrupted. In this construction, it also assigns a place to the CHP. Some call it the 'deep state,' some call it the 'state mind' and defend this order. Deep covers are being made for the benefit of a handful of people. If you ask 'What is today's established order?', it is the very dark system that the AK Party government has built in 23 years. Now, the interests of this established order and the interests of the nation have diverged and become opposed to each other. In this order, some are rich, some are poor. Some are safe, some are not safe. Some are equal, some are less equal. Because the wheel of the established order is not turning for the 86 million nation, but to keep the order they have built safe. We put a stick in the wheel of this established order, friends, we put a stick. We rebelled against this minority, which is the same as each other. We reminded those who say 'I am the state' of the power of the nation. They said 'They cannot win the congress,' we won. They said 'They cannot win the local elections,' we succeeded. They said 'They cannot form an alliance,' we formed the Turkey alliance. They said 'Do not go out to the street, sit in your party,' I swear we did not sit. They said 'You will go there, you will not go there. You will go there, you will come here.' We did what we knew was right, we did not deviate from what we knew was right. That is the reason if the CHP is the target. No one can draw boundaries and directions for the Republican People's Party anymore. We do politics as we know it. If we are to give an account, we only give it to our nation. I want all of you to understand this very well. The peace and prosperity of the nation will not be sacrificed so that the order of those who resist a farewell whose time has come is not disrupted. The struggle we are giving is the struggle of the new against the old. Turkey's march into the future cannot be squeezed into the crises, chaos, and fights of the AK Party's dark system. This struggle is between those who cannot say goodbye and those who are walking into the future. All the troubles and difficulties we are experiencing are the birth pains of the new. Turkey is experiencing birth pains. However, no power will be able to prevent the birth of the new and the departure of the old.”

“IF THE STATE AND THE NATION COMPETE, THE NATION WINS”

“The era of insecure politics in the Republican People's Party has also closed. We are no longer at 25 percent; we have a voter base reaching 40 percent. Those whose hands did not go to the CHP before are now with us. Our party is everyone's father's home. There is a place for everyone at this table. From now on, we will walk together with lion social democrats, nationalist democrats, conservative democrats, Kurdish democrats, liberal democrats, and socialist democrats, covering all democrats. There may be prosecutors and judges of the established order. But the nation is with us, the nation. With us are students who dropped out of school because they couldn't pay their rent; women who are afraid to walk on the street at night. There are retirees who return from the market with empty bags. There are workers who are exploited, whose unionization and right to organize are blocked. There is the middle class whose standard of living has deteriorated and who have become impoverished. There are white-collar workers who have graduated from beautiful schools and are forced to work for salaries below the poverty line, whose burden on their backs increases every day, and who are disciplined and frightened with the threat of being fired. There are those who, even if they are well-off, are worried about the future of their business, property, and assets, and cannot see ahead. We know that our nation is great. We know that it is not desired that the state and the nation come face to face one day. This nation loves its state; it goes to the military when called, it pays its taxes when asked. But the great one is the nation. If you ever set the state against the nation one day, the nation is on its own side then. If the state and the nation compete, the nation wins. The nation will win.

“THIS NATION WILL BE FREED FROM CHAINS WITH US”

“There is no turning back from the struggle with the established order. There is no place for those who are afraid on this path of no return. There is no place for those who are collaborators with the established order, those who are the voice of the dark system, and those who seek tasks not assigned by organizations at another door. If the Republican People's Party is to be purified, it will be purified from this mentality. It will be purified from those who want to imprison us at 25 percent, from those who want to disconnect us from the streets and squares. Because this party will no longer be a party that turns off the lights early on election night and whose members shed tears. This party will not be a party where the women's branches soak their headscarves in vinegar and tie them on their heads on election night, this party will not be a party of youth branches that cannot go home without the light going out, that waits in the street with their necks bent, and that looks at the ground when their father asks 'What happened to the election.' If the CHP is to be purified, it will be purified from those who want to return us to the old. No one will be able to get us used to defeat anymore. Either the rusty chains of the established order will wrap around this nation, or this nation will be freed from its chains with us.”

“THE GREAT TURKEY ALLIANCE IS OUR DREAM AND IDEAL”

“My dear fellow travelers, those who are afraid of the nation today are also those who are afraid to say 'Kurdish issue.' While some are still appointing trustees to municipalities chosen by Kurds, while keeping the Chairmen, Co-Chairs, and mayors of politicians in prisons, let alone the Kurdish issue, even denying the existence of Kurds, the Republican People's Party has resolutely defended the solution of this issue through democratic methods. We are a party that does not deviate a millimeter from its stance while being declared terrorists because we talk to the DEM Party, and that is not afraid to make promises to Kurds when the time comes, saying 'You will feel that you are an equal citizen of the Republic of Turkey.' A great Turkey Alliance is our dream and ideal. With this understanding, we are the party that also voiced the proposal to establish a commission in Parliament for the solution of this issue through democratic means. And we are doing all of this with the power and responsibility of having won the last elections and being Turkey's first party. We will courageously lead Turkey's democratic future. 'There is no line of defense, there is a surface of defense. That surface is the whole homeland.' We promise peace, tranquility, and prosperity to every corner of this homeland. At the stage reached, the commission has held 18 meetings. But there are still trustees appointed above the national will in the municipalities. People are still in prison due to shameful lawsuits under the name of City Reconciliation, which considers it a crime for Kurds to enter municipal councils. Elected politicians are still in prison. Constitutional Court decisions and ECHR decisions are still not being implemented. It has not been right to squeeze the whole issue into the point of not going to İmralı by saying 'must-have' without solving these. Politics is not done by impositions, but by taking the consent of the nation. That is why the decision our party has taken is not destructive but constructive. Because if the destination is peace, the direction is sincerity.”

“WE WILL BUILD A TERROR-FREE AND DEMOCRATIC TURKEY”

“We will continue to defend our 29-article solution proposals that we submitted to Parliament in the squares and in the commission. We are not a party that owes its existence to an enemy, that cannot exist without an enemy. We defend peace, brotherhood, and prosperity in the country, in the region, and in the world. We are not looking for an enemy. Our leadership is the leadership of peace, not enmity. The Middle East geography we are in is a geography where conflicts, war, and pain have not ceased for many years. We cannot turn our backs on this. We cannot ignore it. Just as the Gulf War affected us, the Syrian War has deeply affected Turkey's economic and social climate. The genocide in Gaza has made us all cry, it has made us stand up. Turkey's tranquility and prosperity are critical for the peace and order of the region, they are must-haves. If Turkey is peaceful, the region is peaceful, there is a priority of tranquility in the region. If there is tranquility and peace in the region, brotherhood and prosperity grow rapidly in Turkey. Precisely for this reason, with a consciousness that centers our national interests, our brotherhood, and our unity, with our responsibility to be a regional power, I say it by underlining, by underlining, Turkey's democracy and social accumulation have the power to provide tranquility and prosperity for all identities and beliefs in the Middle East. Being able to take this lead is only possible with a Turkey that has ensured its own social peace, democracy, and justice. Everyone should give up artificial discussions and focus on the goal. We will definitely build a terror-free and democratic Turkey. We are coming to start a new era that will bury the politics that closes Turkey in on itself, pits society against each other, and will ensure peace, brotherhood in our region, and tranquility, equality, and prosperity in our country.”

“THE DOORS OF THE STATE ARE CLOSED TO THE NATION, OPEN TO A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE”

“Dear friends, this dark system is dividing our nation into classes. The nation is divided by the distinction of 'those close to power' and 'those who are not.' Protected rich people; those close to power can share income and wealth. They can access quality education and health services. They can get the decisions they want from the courts. Even if they are incompetent, they can hold office through nepotism. These are the elite class of the dark system. But the nation's children are unemployed, they cannot find work even if they study. The nation's children are poor, they cannot reach the income they deserve even if they work. No one can say 'If I study, if I work, I will succeed, I will win' anymore. The worker's child cannot reach quality education. The retiree waits for days for an appointment at the state hospital. When a citizen says 'If I am in a lawsuit with someone close to power, how can I find justice in court?', I think to myself, 'Should I hire a lawyer close to the AK Party?' In this dark system, the doors of the state have been closed to the nation. The doors of the state are closed to the nation, open to a handful of people. This dark system, which sees itself above the nation, has made Turkey the European leader in inflation. We are the European leader in poverty and income inequality. We are the European leader in tax inequality and high interest rates. The Republic had created 15 million young people of all ages in 10 years. The AK Party's dark system has created 5 million young people sitting at home. In democracies, the compass of politics is the nation. But we see and know that the compass of politics in Turkey has been broken. Our goal is to return Turkey to nation-centered politics.”

“WE WILL GET OUT OF THESE PROBLEMS BY BRINGING JUSTICE”

“So how will we get out of these problems? By bringing justice with the reforms we will make in four areas. First of all, we will ensure justice in the court. From now on, everyone whose path falls to the courthouse will find and see justice there. Then we will ensure justice in income. Everyone who studies, puts in effort, and works will reach a level where they can live humanely. Interviews will be abolished, merit will come. The farmer will be supported, technological initiatives will be supported, and Turkey will be a producing Turkey. The income obtained will be shared with justice. The honorable people of this country will have a certain income level with a basic citizenship income, not because they are someone's relative, but because they are citizens of this homeland. We will ensure justice in taxation. From now on, the treasury of this state will not be filled by collecting 89 percent of taxes from the poor, by collecting 89 percent of the tax from the poor. Tax will be taken from those who really earn. Much will be taken from those who earn much, little from those who earn little. No tax will be taken from those who do not earn. We will ensure social justice. The order where some are equal and some are less equal will change. Kurds and Alevis will feel in their marrow and bones that they are equal citizens of this state. This order, where some are safe but women and children are not protected against violence, and workers are not protected against work accidents, will change. At the top of these four reforms will be the roof of a democratic, secular, social state of law. That roof is the Republic. The Republic will remain forever with the promise we made to its founder. Turkey will gain respect in foreign policy, and our necks will not be bowed to any leader in the world under our government. There will be no trace of the lack of seriousness that gives importance, significance, and authority to sons, descendants, and sons-in-law in foreign policy. Our citizens all over the world will be proud to be citizens of the Republic of Turkey, will be satisfied with the respect their passports receive, and will feel their state by their side at every moment. The steps we will take in democracy, justice, and the economy; the respect we will gain in foreign policy will open the doors of the European Union to us. Turkey will be a full member of the European Union as soon as possible. All our citizens, especially the youth, will attain a visa-free Europe and a Turkey without bans.”

“THE PASSWORD TO BREAK THE SIEGE IS COURAGE”

“We will build a secure future with strong citizens, and Turkey will be the winner. We will work together on the path of 'strong citizen, secure future, winning Turkey.' Undoubtedly, Turkey was saved from the sieges and occupations of that period with great struggles 102 years ago. Our country is under the siege of a small group targeting democracy and justice this time, 102 years later. Today, there is a need to save our Republic from the siege of the era. The will that will save our country from the siege of the era is in this hall. The password to break the siege is courage. Courage is in this hall. Before us is an order that spreads taxes to the base and politics to the ceiling. We are coming to spread taxes to the ceiling and politics to the base, to do politics with the base, to do politics for the poor of this country. Today, the route of politics in Turkey has gone astray. We are coming to turn the route of politics to our nation. The Republican People's Party is on a new political line. Our politics is a nation-centered political line. Our alliance is the Turkey Alliance. Under the light of the six arrows, with all our commitment to social democracy, we will do more politics at the center of social life. We are positioning ourselves at the center of the nation, that is, at the social center. We will walk on a political line that hears the street, believes in the square, goes to the village, organizes the factory, knocks on the door, comes to the house, knows the problem, and tells its solutions.”

“WE HAVE BEEN IN THE SQUARES FOR 255 DAYS”

“Our election campaign effectively started with the resistance on March 19 and the determination of our Presidential candidate on March 23. Our party has been on the street and in the square for 255 days. If necessary, we will run the world's longest election marathon, which will last a thousand days, all together. We will work without stopping, house by house, street by street, until the election. We will write the epic of this victory together. We will sing its folk song together. 'This is a folk song, the folk song of those who drink the sun in earthen bowls. This is a braid, a fiery hair braid. It is writhing, burning like a bloody red torch. On the swarthy foreheads of heroes with bare copper feet. I also saw those heroes. I also braided that braid. I also passed with them over the bridge going to the sun. I also drank the sun from earthen bowls. I also sang that folk song. Our hearts took their speed from the earth, we stretched by tearing the mouths of golden-maned lions. We leaped, we rode the lightning wind. Eagles torn from the rocks with rocks are flapping their wings gilded in the light. Fire-wristed cavalrymen are whipping their rearing horses. There is a rush, a rush to the sun. We will capture the sun, the capture of the sun is near. Let those who carry the tears of those crying at home like a heavy chain around their necks not set out with us. Let those who live in the shell of their own hearts leave us alone. There is a rush, a rush to the sun. We will capture the sun, the capture of the sun is near.',”

“I PROMISE YOU STRUGGLE”

“Of course, we are going through difficult times, and we will. We have paid the heaviest prices, we are paying, and we will pay. I do not promise you beautiful days until the first election. I do not promise you to go to power by passing through a rose garden. I promise you to endure pain but not to surrender. I promise you struggle. I promise you to risk death if necessary, as it was 100 years ago, but not to surrender to occupation. And at the end of all the struggle, I promise you power, I promise you power. I promise you honor, I promise you dignity and courage. I see that courage in your eyes. When I look at you, I see my fellow travelers with whom we will win this victory together. Are you ready to walk with me? Are you ready to walk with me? Are you ready? Are you ready? Then, then come on, youth, let's walk, friends.”