İmamoğlu addresses Erdoğan in Kastamonu speech: 'I am sure I enter his dreams every night'

Here are the highlights from İmamoğlu's speech:

"Young people, I promise you that until we come to power, this jacket will not be worn, these sleeves will always remain rolled up, have no doubt. Those who have evil in their minds and do not recognize rights or law have other concerns. They do not care about the month of Ramadan, nor do they look at people's rights and laws in any way. They are only concerned with increasing their oppression and cruelty. Because the order of waste and tyranny they have established can only survive with oppressors.

They forget that our citizens are experiencing the greatest of oppressions due to today's economic conditions. The money that reaches the worker, the farmer, the tradesman, and the retiree is a clear act of oppression by a government that cannot manage the economy. The government enriching some while placing the burden of this on millions of low-income citizens is the height of oppression.

"I AM SAYING IT FROM HERE: THAT ERA IS OVER"

The oppressors want the nation to be content with what they have; they even want them to be patient and grateful. They do not care if the pot is empty and no food is cooking in their homes. Because if the nation starts demanding its rights, if it rebels, what happens? The oppressors cannot stay in their seats. I am saying it from here; that era is over, that era has ended, our nation is coming to claim its rights! The seats of the oppressors are shaking, and they are shaking violently. This is exactly the meaning of the Republican People's Party coming to local power with an overwhelming majority in Kastamonu and all across Turkey.

We set out to strongly bring to power a management approach that has proven itself in municipalities, one that does not allow for waste, rent-seeking, or partisanship, and that has managed to achieve record levels of service and investment despite all obstacles. This journey has only one goal: to dismantle this order of waste and tyranny. Tell everyone you see; we are coming, we are coming to establish our nation's government with the nation's children, we are coming to give the nation's rights back to the nation!

"WE WILL STAY AWAY FROM MISTAKES"

With the primary elections, we will end the era of one-man rule and backroom politicians in Turkey. On March 23, we will fully demonstrate our determination to fight against the one-man regime. We are determined, we will come to power. But let us underline one thing; we do not dream of governing the country alone.

Our dream is a journey to ensure this country never again falls under the dominance of one-man rule, a single party, the captivity of the country's institutions and organizations to partisanship, or a single idea. We wholeheartedly believe in a pluralistic, libertarian, parliamentary democracy. We are determined to walk together with all political parties, all segments of society, and all opposition circles with whom we share this belief, for the sake of democracy and for the sake of this country's modern future.

But we will also stay away from some of the mistakes made in the past. We will never waste this last chance. We know that our nation now wants a populist, fair, and merit-based administration. Their time is up.

Now is the time for renewal, rejuvenation, and change. This is the rule of both life and politics. Those whose time is up, those whose batteries have run out, go home. In their place, those who give hope, those who get things done, and those who will spend their energy on the nation come to power.

'I AM SURE I ENTER HIS DREAMS EVERY NIGHT'

Those who enjoy themselves in the halls of the palace and forget the nation will go. Those who cannot go out to the streets, bazaars, and markets will go. Who will come? We will come. Who are we? We are the people here. Brave people who come together with enthusiasm despite bans. The children of the nation. You are coming, my dear fellow travelers. They are very afraid of March 23, they are trembling. I am sure I enter his dreams every night. When the nation pulls the seat he thinks belongs to him out from under him in his dream, he wakes up from his sleep at night. I can feel that from here. But let them be afraid, because that ballot box is not yours, it is the nation's. The nation is coming to take that seat, and it will send you home at the ballot box.

He is most afraid of democracy. We are lovers of democracy, he is afraid. And when he hears the name İmamoğlu, he looks to his right and left with anxiety. He is very afraid. He is so afraid that this fear, frankly, always makes him uneasy.

Despite my calls, he does not have the courage to appear before the Turkish nation and compete honorably. That is why he prepares traps with the instructions he gives, tries to trip me up, and tries to turn the prosecutor's office—which he has almost turned into a second Saraçhane with the frequent invitations he makes to me—into a tool. I learned while coming here that they have sent a letter to Istanbul University once again in a hurry, continuing the process of pressuring me regarding my diploma. They are in a great hurry. They probably said, 'Get this done before March 23.' May God reform you!"