Özgür Özel asks Akın Gürlek about 'luxury yacht': 'I have the proof, I am waiting for him to deny it!'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel spoke at his party's weekly group meeting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Our Chairman Özgür Özel is speaking at our party's parliamentary group meeting. https://t.co/cAnSruI1Vn

— CHP ???? (@herkesicinCHP) June 17, 2025

Özel began his speech by commemorating Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, who lost his life.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made harsh statements regarding controversial decisions taken in the judiciary. Özel said, “Others will walk the path you have opened tomorrow, and not one of you will remain free.” he said, warning the government.

Özel also announced to the public that his party has established its candidate office for the presidential elections.

"YOU DESCENDED ON GAZİOSMANPAŞA LIKE CANNIBALS!"

Speaking about the municipality passing back to the AKP following the arrest of CHP Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe, Özel reacted harshly to the process. "You did not take Gaziosmanpaşa; the people of Gaziosmanpaşa gave Gaziosmanpaşa to Hakan (Bahçetepe). You went and descended on the will of Gaziosmanpaşa like cannibals" he said, criticizing the government's stance.

HE ADDRESSED AKIN GÜRLEK

In one part of his speech, Özgür Özel targeted Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Özel, "I know that Akın Gürlek is cruising on a luxury yacht that he could only afford if he saved every single salary he would earn over 87 years without spending a penny. I have the proof, I am waiting for him to deny it. I know that a property registered to the Treasury of Finance, which is classified as a cultural asset that must be protected, located in the Istanbul Bosphorus region, was allocated to him, that it was furnished with extreme luxury, equipped with bulletproof glass, that a pool not in the original project was built, and that illegal outbuildings were constructed for his relatives, bodyguards, and drivers. Let him deny it, I am waiting for an explanation. I challenge him!" he said.

The highlights from Özel's speech are as follows:

"This is not an easy group speech. We lost my brother, our Manisa Metropolitan Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek. A tragic accident. Then, 3 days spent with prayers, waiting for a miracle. Then a painful loss, a funeral that went down in Turkish political history and Manisa's history, and then the necessity of returning to life and politics after the condolences of tens of thousands that lasted for days, Bayburt, the trial of our Mayor Ekrem, and today I am before you.

When I look before me, I remember when they came here a few months ago with the municipal council members and district chairs, and while I was telling the story of our shared political past in Manisa, the story of Manisa where the Republican People's Party went from 6 percent to 60 percent with everyone's effort, my brother Ferdi stood up from where he was sitting...

Then everyone who came with him from Manisa stood up. And they applauded these words. Then, every time, he would say to me, 'Brother, you told it so beautifully. Tell it again.' Unfortunately, I told that story for the last time at his coffin during the funeral ceremony in Manisa. That story is the story of the hope of those who engage in politics in Atatürk's party.

"I PROMISE YOU"

Honest politics, the politics of those who love each other, will be successful. A century later, my brother Ferdi, we will once again make Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's party the government together. I promise you.

COMMEMORATED SÜLEYMAN DEMİREL

Today is the death anniversary of Süleyman Demirel, a name who left his mark on our political history. He came six times and left seven times, but he always emerged from the ballot box. Whether he won or lost, he respected the ballot box. It is the death anniversary of a name who saw coups but never attempted one. On his 10th anniversary, he is remembered as someone who, despite a life spent in prisons and a very fierce rivalry with the Republican People's Party, never deviated from the idea of democracy and never, ever attempted a coup by using state resources, the judiciary, or other means against his opponent. He was a victim of coups, but he managed not to become someone who, while once a victim, later became the commander of coups and the tyrant of the era. As the Republican People's Party, we once again commemorate with mercy Süleyman Demirel, the important name of the Center-Right, the Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Turkey... who walked from the right toward the goal of a multi-party, multi-colored, multi-vocal, and free Turkey.

"IF THE ARTICLE PASSES, OLIVE GROVES WILL BE OPENED TO MINING"

We have left the Eid al-Adha behind. Our parliament, which has not been working for a while due to the holiday, and which only completed its elections last week without conducting legislative work, will start working again today. On this occasion, I would like to thank our friends who previously served and wish success in their new duties to both the members of the Presidential Council determined by the Republican People's Party group and elected in parliament, the members of the Presidential Council elected from other parties, and the group executive board members who will serve on behalf of our group in the coming period.

Unfortunately, the Justice and Development Party continues a stubbornness, a repetition. My 14 years in parliament and the 23 years the AK Party has spent in parliament so far have been spent repelling their legislative proposals attacking olive groves, midnight motions, and articles they tried to add through efforts in the relevant commissions.

Environmentalists did not get tired, we did not get tired, but it is understood that the enemies of olives and nature have not gotten tired either. They are trying to bring back the regulation regarding olive groves, which was withdrawn in 2022 after great controversy and after creating a rift within the AK Party. If the article passes, olive areas will be opened to mining activities.

Already, especially on the Black Sea coast, when you look from a plane or a helicopter at any part of Turkey, you see what kind of wild mining is taking place. In many cities, especially Ordu and Giresun, the fact that 70 to 80 percent of the area has been opened to mining exploration and that each of our beautiful green mountains is riddled with holes hurts every one of us. The olive is found in all holy books, has extraordinary importance for Anatolia, has a distinct nutritional value, and a distinct historical reference to peace. It is an extremely important tree for Anatolian lands, considered the most valuable, almost sacred, and protected by people like the apple of their eye, both with its contribution to the national economy and family economies, and by preventing further destruction of nature due to the protection of the areas where they are located.

Now they want to explore for mines in olive groves once again. Our group will, of course, show the greatest resistance on this issue. We will again be in solidarity with civil society. With the spirit of the resistance in Akbelen, I invite everyone in Turkey, regardless of their views, who loves nature, trees, and olives to fight shoulder to shoulder once again against this attack by the AK Party.

"55 PERCENT OF TURKEY EARNS MINIMUM WAGE, 9 PERCENT IN GERMANY"

We have reached the first half of 2025. We have been in the midst of a crisis that has weighed on the nation like a nightmare since the March 19 coup attempt that has continued since 2018. Let us remember that in the past, crises in this country were remembered by the years they occurred. But this time, that 2018 crisis has been never-ending.

Because we are all seeing together how the constitution, which was made for Erdoğan—even though Mr. Bahçeli, who initially supported it strongly but later suggested in 2021 that the Presidential Government System should be revised with a 100-article proposal package, shared a 16-18 article revision package for the regime with his alliance partner—has become too restrictive for each of us, how the powers granted to him have become a disaster for the nation, and what a collapse we are experiencing in domestic policy, foreign policy, and especially in the economy.

When I went to Bayburt, a mother there said to me, "The gold account was good. Why did you stop it?" Actually, we didn't stop it, but there are such pressing agendas and so many different issues that need to be explained. Perhaps we took a break for a few weeks. My mother said, "The gold account is good. It never fails, it never fails," and she wanted to remind me of the gold account.

"THEY DON'T DISCLOSE IT, THEY MASK IT"

I will try to express both the gold account and some very striking changes regarding this country's economy by adapting them to today once again. First, the minimum wage is a major problem. Because in Turkey, the minimum wage has become the base wage. The minimum wage has become the average wage.

In Germany, the German Social Democrats, our comrades, are putting up a great fight because the share of the minimum wage in total wages is very high. It is 9 percent there. There, the minimum wage is a wage that is quickly moved away from with the seniority gained in the first year. It is only mentioned for the first year. It is 9 percent, and they are worried about it. In Turkey, it is 55 percent, close to 60 percent. Since 2021, they have been masking this data by not disclosing it because it has risen so much.

"IF IT IS GIVEN ACCORDING TO THE TURKSTAT CALCULATION, THEN WOE IS US"

Normally, how do you give someone a raise? You add inflation on top of their salary because you need to compensate for what inflation has eroded since the last raise. You also add a welfare share on top of that. Is it supposed to stay in place? You say the country is growing, you say the economy is growing, you say there is growth. It won't work if I grow and you stand still. And a welfare share. They are not giving a welfare share. They are not sharing the growth.

They were only giving inflation, but that inflation has two problems. One is that it is TÜİK inflation. The inflation of the "Statistical Institute that does not upset Tayyip Erdoğan." Normally, inflation is 80 percent, but TÜİK manages to calculate it at 39 percent. There is already a loss of half here. On top of that, this year they said we will give the targeted inflation, not the realized inflation. This time, they stole another 15 points from people's pockets from there, and thus they gave 22,000 to the minimum wage, which should have been 35,000 according to the most reasonable calculation, and 30,000 according to the lowest calculation. 22,000. In other words, they stole at least 8,000 liras from the pocket of every minimum wage earner.

On top of that, this year's inflation is being experienced. Why do you go to the election when the AK Party was last elected? You tell the nation how you will govern the country. And they vote for you. Before the last election, Erdoğan was saying: "If inflation has exceeded single digits, that is, if it is double digits, it is necessary to update the minimum wage four times a year."

"THERE IS NO ACCEPTABLE SIDE TO THIS"

In the year he said that and the year before, he had updated it twice. He had also given a July raise. It wasn't enough, it was little, the inflation calculation was wrong, but at least an interim raise was coming in July. The gentleman didn't find that sufficient. He said let's do it in March, July, October, and December. He got the applause. He got the vote. He couldn't win the first round. Between the first and second rounds, the topic he talked about the most was this and the abolition of interviews.

He won the election. The following year, last year, he didn't give even 1 lira of a raise to the minimum wage. Now, the 22,100 lira minimum wage has dropped to 19,000 currently, even according to TÜİK's 5-month inflation calculation. In terms of purchasing power. According to TÜİK. There is one more month. It will drop to 18,000-something liras, and they are saying survive on this salary for the next 6 months. There is no acceptable side to this.

Similarly, retirees are living on a misery salary of around 14,500. If they do something to retiree salaries according to the TÜİK calculation, then woe is us. They will make it 15.5 or something by the end of the year. Whereas, a flat-rate raise must definitely be made there as well. Regarding this, we have visited the unions. Last week was a difficult week. We had to take a break, but we are rapidly visiting other confederations, tradesmen's associations, consumer associations, retirees' organizations, and all the structures we can reach to get their opinions, and our Deputy Chairmen, our three relevant Deputy Chairmen, are working on a correct package, and we will appear before the public with a support model that is definitely, absolutely a livable minimum wage, protects small tradesmen, provides serious support to SMEs, and shares the increase with the industrialist.

"LET AN AK PARTY MEMBER WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE COME FORTH AND PROVE US WRONG"

What is the state of the minimum wage? When my aunt from Bayburt said that the gold calculation never fails, we brought it to its current state. In 2002, the minimum wage could buy 7 quarter gold coins. Let any AK Party member who doesn't believe it come forward. Let them calculate it and prove us wrong. Whenever I visit tradesmen all over Turkey, if I see a jeweler, I take out my calculator or there is one in front of the tradesman. We are stating the facts. We look at 2002: how much was gold? How much was the minimum wage? They calculate it tick-tock-tick. When the AK Party came to power, a minimum wage earner could buy 7 quarter gold coins. At the beginning of this year, it had fallen to 4 quarter gold coins. A huge loss. Currently, the minimum wage has fallen to 3 quarter gold coins. It has dropped from 7 quarter gold coins to 3. The loss is greater than what remains. The minimum wage earner has lost four out of seven; only three remain. This is the picture for minimum wage earners. The pension is in an even worse state. In 2002, the lowest pension could buy 8 quarter gold coins. By January of this year, it had fallen to 3 quarter gold coins. Currently, it is 2 quarter gold coins. A loss of 6 quarter gold coins. A pensioner who could buy 8 quarter gold coins has fallen to one-fourth of that, down to two quarter gold coins.

There is a sister sitting in the very back. She raised her hand. When she does the math, she hits her knee like this, saying 'alas, alas.' This sister. Let's applaud this sister of mine. Where are you from? From Muş. From Muş... Thank you.

We will definitely express this in the coming weeks. But first, let me show you this. What is the state of the minimum wage? When my aunt from Bayburt said that the gold calculation never fails, we brought it to its current state. In 2002, the minimum wage could buy 7 quarter gold coins. Let any AK Party member who doesn't believe it come forward. Let them calculate it and prove us wrong. Whenever I visit tradesmen all over Turkey, if I see a jeweler, I take out my calculator or there is one in front of the tradesman. We are stating the facts. We look at 2002: how much was gold? How much was the minimum wage? They calculate it tick-tock-tick. When the AK Party came to power, a minimum wage earner could buy 7 quarter gold coins. At the beginning of this year, it had fallen to 4 quarter gold coins. A huge loss. Currently, the minimum wage has fallen to 3 quarter gold coins. It has dropped from 7 quarter gold coins to 3. The loss is greater than what remains. The minimum wage earner has lost four out of seven; three remain.

This is the picture for minimum wage earners. The pension is in an even worse state. In 2002, the lowest pension could buy 8 quarter gold coins. By January of this year, it had fallen to 3 quarter gold coins. Currently, it is 2 quarter gold coins. A loss of 6 quarter gold coins. A pensioner who could buy 8 quarter gold coins has fallen to one-fourth of that, down to two quarter gold coins. There is a sister sitting in the very back. She raised her hand. When she does the math, she hits her knee like this, saying 'alas, alas.' Let's applaud this sister of mine. Where are you from? From Muş. Where are you from? Muş city center. Thank you.

"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO BROUGHT THIS COUNTRY TO THIS STATE"

Now, in a situation where the minimum wage has fallen from 7 quarter gold coins to 3, and the pension has fallen from 8 quarter gold coins to 2, let's look at the situation in the markets and bazaars with this salary. An apple was 25 liras last year, now it is 100 liras. A kilo of peaches was 50 liras, now it has become 180 liras. Lemons were 30 liras, they have become 120 liras. Is this correct? It is. A kilo of pears has gone up from 40 liras to 120 liras. Plums have gone up from 60 liras to 300 liras. A kilo of bananas has gone up from 50 liras to 120 liras. Cherries have gone up from 70 liras to 600 liras. It is not something anyone can afford. My late uncle was in Germany. He came back, I think in the 1980s, and said to my father, 'Brother Telat, know the value of your country.

They sell watermelon by the slice in Germany.' I was very surprised and very sad back then. What kind of country is this Germany? They even sell watermelon by the slice, I thought. Yesterday, our friends went to a market. The shopping time, minute, and price are all clear. There is nothing you can't find in the market. Can I buy one apple? Of course, 26 liras and 20 kuruş. Give me one lemon, 23 liras and 51 kuruş. One peach, 38 liras. One pear, 31 liras and 19 kuruş. A handful of cherries, 8 pieces. 8 single cherries, may God have mercy. 8 single cherries, 80 liras. 3 single greengage plums, 21 liras and 60 kuruş. One banana, 25 liras and 91 kuruş. If you put 8 cherries, 3 plums, one peach, one apple, one lemon, and one pear in a bowl, it costs 246 liras. That is why he says, 'I am an economist, I know, I know.' You are the one who brought this country to this state, Erdoğan, you, no one else.

"HERE IS 50 LIRAS WORTH OF FUEL FOR YOU"

Now, hikes are coming for gasoline and diesel. The worst thing about this is the following. You know how they say an object is approaching the world. A meteor is coming.

Has there been a hike in gasoline and diesel? That means everything from A to Z is getting a price hike. Because whether it is in terms of transportation costs or production and energy costs, once both are hiked, everything will be hiked. Everything from A to Z, from bread to a child's socks, will be hiked. With the 1.70 lira hike that came last night, following the 1.50 lira hikes every two nights, unfortunately, 1 liter of diesel has exceeded 50 lira. It has become 52, 53 lira. And the tax collected from 1 liter of diesel has exceeded 20 lira. Now you say something about it, and it's a problem. You say this, and it's a problem. There were some field operatives, television pundits, and social media advocates who defended what the AK Party did for years. When you told them that diesel had been hiked, what did they say?

"ON ONE SIDE A JERRYCAN OF DIESEL, ON THE OTHER SIDE A LITER OF DIESEL"

"It doesn't concern me, I already buy 50 lira worth." Here is your 50 lira worth of diesel. Here is your 50 lira worth of diesel. The person who says "What is it to me, I already buy 50 lira worth" can no longer even buy 1 liter of diesel for 50 lira. That's gone too. But you, you voted for Mr. Tayyip in 2018. We said don't do it. We said this one-man regime would not be good for Turkey. If Mr. Tayyip comes, bread will shrink. Hikes will come. He said, "Give the authority, see the effect." Let's see how I will lower inflation, make life cheaper, how I will lower interest rates, the dollar, the euro, diesel, and gasoline; you will see. Authority is needed. They gave the authority, and we saw the effect.

When the one-man regime began, 50 lira filled this much diesel. When the one-man regime arrived, if you gave 50 lira, you got this much diesel. Now you can't even buy 1 liter of diesel. From now on, those who are curious about the effect of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's one-man regime should see this. On one side a jerrycan of diesel, on the other side not even 1 liter of diesel.

"WE WILL EITHER GET THE RAISE OR WE WILL SEND AWAY THOSE WHO DO NOT GRANT IT"

Summer is coming for this. As we enter the summer, our parliamentary group is first preparing our legislative proposal to ensure that a flat-rate raise is given to retirees and that retirees are saved from this suffering with a proper flat-rate raise. We will submit it and bring the flat-rate raise for retirees to the agenda before parliament closes. Furthermore, we are continuing our contacts for an interim raise to the minimum wage. We are also concretizing our minimum wage proposal. We will clarify it in the coming weeks and will continue to wage a great struggle both in parliament and in the field, on the streets, and in the squares to ensure a flat-rate raise is granted to the minimum wage in July. For the people in this country, receiving a flat-rate raise or an interim raise is as legitimate as their mother's milk. We will either get this raise, or we will send away those who do not grant it. Of course, there are retirees on one side, laborers on the other, and public servants on another. Public servants working in the public sector with an average salary of 42,000 lira have lost 6,500 lira from their salaries in 5 months.

"I INVITE EVERYONE TO SEEK THEIR RIGHTS ON THE STREETS AND SQUARES"

And 600,000 public workers—350,000 of them for six months, and 250,000 of them for three months—have been waiting for a framework agreement. The parties, Hak-İş, Türk-İş, and the State, have submitted their demands. Their demand for the first six months was 50% plus a 10% welfare share. They had an approach that correctly read the expectations in line with inflation. They waited for six months. Now, they are faced with a ridiculous offer of 16% for the first six months and 8% for the second six months—much lower than inflation, similar to what was done to minimum wage earners. Who is the one who cannot meet the targets? Mehmet Şimşek. Who is the one who appointed him? Erdoğan. But the one suffering is the public worker. The unions are objecting to this. They say the summer will be hot and full of struggle. Exactly on the 55th anniversary of the June 15-16 labor resistance, we want to address all workers. We are speaking clearly and in a spirit of solidarity to those whose bread on the table shrinks a little more every day, to those who can no longer meet their children's needs, to those who cannot even pass by the butcher or the greengrocer, and to those trapped between market receipts and electricity bills.

The issue is now one of living with dignity, humanely, and as brothers and sisters. There are those here who are not receiving their due. It does not matter if they are AK Party, MHP, DEM, IYI Party, or CHP supporters. On one side, there are those who are not getting their rights, and on the other, there are those who are not granting them. It is time to put parties and politics aside and fight together at the forefront of the struggle for labor and sweat. Even if you have voted for this government in the past, or still do, I invite all the poor, all the workers, and all the civil servants who are being crushed while the rich are granted every opportunity—despite not being able to get their rights or meet their children's needs—to be part of the struggle, to take to the squares, to heed the calls of their unions, to support the rallies, and to seek their rights in the streets and squares. As you join the struggle, we will all be much stronger together.

"I CALL ON EVERYONE TO JOIN A UNION"

From here, we address DISK, Türk-İş, Hak-İş, all independent unions, and civil servant unions. You are obligated to be in the squares, to struggle, and to defend the sweat and hard work of those from whom you collect dues. We hear that courage is rising on this issue. Rest assured, we are by your side, we are behind you. We are supporters of your honorable struggle. And my final word on this: to everyone who values my word, the worst union is better than no union at all.

Union struggle is the ground where workers can defend their rights and where the country's democracy can be correctly defined through the struggle for rights. For this reason, I invite all workers—whether they work in the public sector, are self-employed, or work in the private sector—to join a union and take part in the union struggle. While all the facts are out in the open, Erdoğan continues to sell dreams without getting tired or weary.

"THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY: IT MUST BE AN ELECTION YEAR"

Erdoğan continues to sell dreams without getting tired or weary. This year, he said: '2026 will be a year of prosperity.' Erdoğan said in 2022, 'Everyone should make their calculations based on the 20% level for 2023.' Inflation turned out to be 68%. Whoever calculated inflation at 20% took a 48% hit from Erdoğan. He said, 'In 2023, 2024 inflation will be determined based on single-digit figures, it will fall to single digits, make your calculations accordingly.' Inflation turned out to be 44%. He said, 'We will definitely lower interest rates in 2024 and 2025.' The benchmark interest rate, which was 47.5%, is now 46%. SMEs are using loans at 70%. He is still trying to fill the citizens' minds, if not their stomachs, with fancy words, trying to keep the ship afloat with the same rhetoric. In 2024, which Erdoğan declared the 'Year of the Retiree,' retirees were left in misery.

In 2025, declared the 'Year of the Family,' there is an explosion in divorce cases. Families are falling apart due to financial hardship. Now, Erdoğan is declaring 2026 as the 'Year of Prosperity.' 2026 can be a year of prosperity, I believe. It can be a year of retirees. It can be a year of workers. It can be a year of families and a year of youth. There is only one way for this: it must be an election year. It must be an election year. The first elections to be held will bring about change in Turkey. Once the government in Turkey changes, the faces of retirees, workers, tradesmen, farmers, the young, and the elderly will smile. That year will be their year, and the coming century will be the second century of all of us, the Republic of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

"WE ARE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUPPORT GIVEN BY DENİZ GEZMİŞ AND HIS FRIENDS"

Unfortunately, our country is surrounded by a ring of fire. Instability continues in Russia and Ukraine above, and in Syria. Massacres are also continuing in Palestine and Gaza. More than 50,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza. Most of them are women and children. When sufficient sanctions are not seen from the world, on the other hand, Turkey reacts to Netanyahu with a tone that will not be heard much outside, enough to be used in domestic politics, speaks to him in lowercase letters, and does not say a word to Trump, who is the one who actually provokes and enrages him. After all, he says Gaza is beautiful. 'I will build coastal towns and casinos there. I will distribute the Palestinians to other countries.' If someone were to write this in the corner of their newspaper under normal circumstances, Turkey should stand up, react to that country, condemn the genocide and deportation, and say that this is a crime against humanity and that it cannot even fall under the scope of freedom of thought.

Trump is staying silent on Erdoğan's genocide while looking him in the eye. He has planned and programmed to deport the Palestinians there, build casinos, make it Israel's deeded property, and seize the hydrocarbon deposits in the sea in front of it for 100 years. 100 years. And our people are sitting silently. We raised our voices against this at a rally led by the Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) last Sunday, upon the invitation of the esteemed Chairman Ahmet. The demands and approaches at that rally were met with great hope by those who attended and those who followed the rally. Because this is what Palestine expects from us. Let me repeat a sentence I said there. We see the Palestine issue as our party's fundamental issue. We are where the late Bülent Ecevit stood behind Arafat. We are right in the middle of the support that Deniz Gezmiş and his friends gave to the Palestine Liberation Organization.

"WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE PALESTINE ISSUE"

Where do you stand on the Palestine issue? Where are you while Trump is emptying Palestine? Where are you while he is building casinos there? Where are you while he is seizing the hydrocarbon deposits and natural gas in front of it? What is the reason for your acceptance of a secondary task that no one knows about, with a partition and planning of his own choosing in Syria, and your inability to open your mouth to Trump in the face of Israel hitting Iran today? What are you trading? Which personal interests are you trading for which of Turkey's interests? Are you taking this position in the face of staging a coup against Turkey's elected mayors and our future presidential candidate, who is clearly beating you in all future polls, by calling the US before the March 19 coup?

"SHAME ON YOU"

Shame on you. Well, if it's not like that, we would like to hear it if it's not like that. Of course, Turkey must be strong while these things are happening in the surrounding area. I am addressing those who talk about fortifying the internal front when it comes to talk. Let us fortify the internal front. Of course, let the internal front be strong. The interests of this country and the interests of the people living in this country are common, both inside and outside. Now, everything that threatens our internal peace is a security problem for the country. It is not possible to fight as a whole without ensuring social peace. That's why, isn't it? Let's sit crooked and talk straight. I'm not saying this because I'm criticizing or anything. There is no benefit to this country in bickering with each other, not solving 50-year-old problems, allocating all of the economy's largest expenses to armament and counter-terrorism, and having martyrs come every day and mothers shedding tears. Mr. Bahçeli went and shook hands. He has a completely different attitude towards us, whom he declared terrorists just because we said hello to a party he said all sorts of things about yesterday.

What is he justifying it for? Let's strengthen the internal front. Let's not clash with each other. Let's not fight with each other. Well, won't it be necessary to return to democracy and return to the rule of law to do this? What is the government doing in such a period? It is threatening our internal peace by damaging democracy. It is weakening Turkey by staging a coup against its political rivals. It has already caused a loss of 60 billion dollars in the first instance and 110 billion dollars with its side effects to our economy, which is already in difficulty, just for its own political interests.

"WE MUST WAKE TURKEY UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE"

We must wake Turkey up from this nightmare. For this, I am addressing both Erdoğan and Bahçeli from here. If fortifying the internal front means persuading a terrorist organization, which has been active for 50 years and is currently experiencing one of its weakest periods, to lay down its arms and taking positive steps for the future, then yes, let us all do it together. But besides this, you cannot ensure internal peace by threatening the country's founding party, the party that won 65% of the municipalities in the last elections and 80% in economic terms, the Republican People's Party, which is currently 7 points ahead of the AK Party in the polls, in prisons and courtrooms, by threatening young bureaucrats with their children, fathers, and spouses, and their little children. This has no benefit for Turkey.

"EITHER YOU WILL COME TO YOUR SENSES OR WE WILL BRING YOU TO THEM"

Exactly 90 days have passed since the March 19 coup. Our friends are being kept inside on corruption allegations where not a single penny has been proven, despite a world of slander. Every day on television, the dignity of themselves, their relatives, and their families is being toyed with. They are being held in custody for days, just like that. When they are summoned, they are suddenly thrown into a police station they would have gone to anyway, at the crack of dawn. They are held for 4 days. Some are released. Three days later, they are taken again and subjected to the same torture for another 4 days. They are kept in isolation in Silivri, in high-security prisons, as if they were the heads of terrorist organizations or criminal gangs. Those among them who have children are being threatened with their children.

Come here, sign this, and reunite with your child. Otherwise, you won't see them for 20 years. Lies and slanders are being told to turn them against each other. Whichever friend's mother cannot travel, that friend is sent 500 kilometers away. Whichever one's child or spouse cannot reach them, they are sent 400 kilometers away. They are kept in wards where 80 people stay in beds meant for 50, where they sleep in shifts, where there are no beds of their own, and then they are called back and asked, 'Will you go there or to your home? I think you will sign this slander text,' they say. While such oppression exists, while such oppression exists, the Republican People's Party will never, ever remain silent in the face of this oppression, without deviating from its own truths, without abandoning its own consistency, but never giving up the struggle, and while this Tayyip Erdoğan says, 'We need to strengthen the internal front, we shouldn't fight.' We will continue our struggle to the end, square by square, rally by rally, action by action. Either you will come to your senses, or we will bring you to them.

FIRST COMMENT ON ÜMİT ÖZDAĞ'S RELEASE

One of my eyes was on the court in Silivri. I had attended his previous hearing. Today, Mayor Mansur is there on behalf of all of us. We were here for the group meeting. There is good news from dear Ümit Özdağ, who has been held in Silivri for months with great injustice and whom we have supported at every one of our rallies; he has been released. May it be auspicious for the Zafer Party. I have always said this about this being an important step. You cannot take the chairman of a political party and put him inside. You cannot put the mayors of a political party, whom the nation voted for to govern, inside without their crimes being proven. Tayyip Erdoğan was tried for years but was never taken into custody for a single day. He was tried for years and was never tried while under arrest for a single day. Even when his sentence was confirmed, the police did not go to his house to take him. It was said, 'Your sentence is confirmed, please surrender to the prison.' He went and surrendered at a rally with drums, pipes, and a convoy. Today, he is inflicting the oppression that was not inflicted upon him yesterday on chairmen and our mayors.

"WE HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN OURSELVES, WE WANT A LIVE BROADCAST ON TRT"

For this reason, once again, Ümit Özdağ's decision is an important gain in this respect. We demand trial without detention for all political prisoners, for Selahattin Demirtaş, for Mayor Ekrem, for Figen Yüksekdağ, for all political prisoners, for all mayors, and for all council members. We have full confidence in ourselves; we demand a live broadcast on TRT.

"YOU SEIZED GAZİOSMANPAŞA LIKE CANNIBALS"

Because the AK Party holds the majority in the Municipal Council, the mayor is in prison due to a decision made in Gaziosmanpaşa. While the mayor is inside, that municipal council group elects an AK Party member from among themselves as the acting mayor. Just think about it. The people in Gaziosmanpaşa sat down and made a decision, saying 'Hakan'. They are arresting Hakan for a decision that was approved by the AK Party commission members sent by the previous AK Party mayor and passed by the votes of the AK Party municipal council members who sent it to the council. And they say Hakan will manage Gaziosmanpaşa in his place. Hakan still holds the title of mayor. Two-thirds of his salary is being deposited. They elect an AK Party member as the deputy with the AK Party majority. Then Mr. Erdoğan calls this person and congratulates him with laughter. They say, 'We took Gaziosmanpaşa.' You did not take Gaziosmanpaşa.

The people of Gaziosmanpaşa gave Gaziosmanpaşa to Hakan. You went in like cannibals. You seized the will of Gaziosmanpaşa.

Now, looking into the eyes of our entire nation, we are at such a point that what was the crime of our friends? This slanderer supposedly wrapped one or two cars. He sent them to ours just as he sent them to the AK Party. Those vehicles were used in the campaign. The mayor is guilty and is inside. In 2019, Ekrem İmamoğlu becomes the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB). Let's look at an inventory. He asks how many vehicles we have and where they are. The result: 879 İBB vehicles, either owned or leased by the İBB, are missing. They are not in municipal service. Where are they? At the Archers Foundation, at TÜGVA, at the AK Party, at the AK Party Headquarters, at the AK Party Istanbul Provincial Presidency, and at various AK Party district presidencies in Istanbul. 879 of them. Let's look at just 59 of these. There is a long, detailed breakdown of each one.

Look, I will give this to my journalist friends. It starts with one. License plate 34 NZ 7552. Make Volkswagen Passat 2.0. Model 2017, a 2-year-old car at that time. The institution it was allocated to is the AK Party Provincial Presidency. Allocation date March 28. There are exactly 59 like this. My President Haydar, give me a number from 1 to 59. He said 49. What is 49? 34 [license plate details], 2018 model, at the AK Party Provincial Presidency. 59 of these vehicles are at the AK Party Provincial Presidency. There are plenty of vehicles in the foundations of sons-in-law, daughters, and sons. Those at the very top mostly use them themselves as the heads of the foundation. 879 vehicles.

For example, one of these vehicles, 343819, a Renault Fluence passenger car, was allocated to the AK Party Provincial Presidency on February 7, 2019. When was it to be used? It says 'during the election period'. Look, during the election period. The municipality's vehicle, the vehicle the municipality leased from a company, was given to the AK Party Provincial Presidency during the election period, many for 18-20 months. Look, you know the new mayor of Gaziosmanpaşa? He received a salary from the İBB for 10 years as a 'ATM employee' without ever working. That is also proven. Now I am saying this to Gürlek from here. You are not looking at the period before 2019, are you? Why? Because you are not after justice, you are not after crime, you are not after corruption. That is why you cannot find anything. After 2019. You are after a name. You are after Ekrem İmamoğlu. If you were looking for crime, you would have to go before 2019.

If he went before 2019, what would Mr. Akın see? He would see that Ekrem İmamoğlu wrote a letter to the Inspection Board as soon as he took office, that the Inspection Board could not find the 879 cars, and that when they searched, they found some were entrusted to AK Party politics at the AK Party Headquarters, and some at this or that foundation. He would see that some of these cars were immediately brought back and left when the issue came to the agenda. He would see that some came after the Inspection Board's report, but some only returned a month after the Inspection Board wrote to the ministry and the ministry went after the vehicle.

One of these is a luxury vehicle, an Opel İnsignia. The most luxurious one is the Opel. Using the same method, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Investigation Report, Inspection Board Presidency, page 34. The allocation date is clear. The license plate is 34 NZ 2301. To whom was it allocated? To Akın Gürlek himself, friends. To Akın Gürlek himself, and Mr. Akın even returned the car at the very end. Did you ride in the Opel İnsignia with license plate 34 NZ 2301, which was given by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, for 540 days? Did you ride in it? Did the IMM cover its OGS, HGS, gasoline, driver, and maintenance costs? Did it or did it not? Now, if you are looking for an election period, look, it was given to the AK Party. You arrest a mayor because a contractor sent a vehicle to a municipal campaign.

11 of our mayors are under arrest. You are personally involved in this disgrace. You don't go back to before 2019. Let me just say this much. They said a vehicle was allocated to the Istanbul Provincial Presidency from Beşiktaş 5 years ago, not to the CHP provincial presidency, not to the district presidency, nor anywhere else from the Republican People's Party municipalities.

"LET HIM DENY IT, I AM WAITING FOR AN EXPLANATION, I CHALLENGE HIM!"

It turned out to be a protection vehicle used by the police. It didn't even turn out to be an allocation to a politician. It turned out to be a protection vehicle requested by four police drivers. While such things never, ever happen in the Republican People's Party, the AK Party is neck-deep in it. One of those involved is Akın Gürlek, who arrests mayors for a car.

I am continuing from here. I know that Akın Gürlek has been cruising on a luxury yacht that he could only afford if he saved every single salary he would earn over 87 years. I have the proof, I am waiting for him to deny it. I know that a place registered to the Treasury of Finance in the Bosphorus region of Istanbul, which is considered a cultural asset that must be protected, was allocated to him, that it was furnished with extreme luxury, equipped with bulletproof glass, that a pool not in the project was built, and that illegal outbuildings were constructed for his relatives, bodyguards, and drivers. Let him deny it, I am waiting for an explanation. I challenge him.

"NOT ONE OF YOU WILL REMAIN OUTSIDE"

It is so clear, so obvious. I would say the salt has gone bad, but the salt hasn't gone bad. They have put something rotten inside the salt, inside the salt shaker. They are trying to pass it off as salt. They are trying to pass it off as salt. From here, I am addressing the conscientious politicians of the AK Party. If you have even this much conscience... 879 cars have been allocated to your party. No one is looking into it. You remove a mayor from office because a Peugeot Partner was used for 1.5 months during an election. The mayor has no knowledge of it, no connection to it. This much oppression, someone else will walk the path you have paved tomorrow. Not one of you will remain outside. Not one of you will remain outside! You look us in the face as if there is no injustice, no lawlessness, no lack of conscience, and by God, this is such a great shamelessness. Shame on you.

"PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY OFFICE ESTABLISHED"

The problems are many, and while it is good to talk about them and continue to travel from square to square and struggle, how will the CHP solve these issues? Here is the Republican People's Party. On one hand, it had drafted its own charter and set a roadmap for itself. We said May. This 2-month experience caused a slight delay. The party's program will be ready in July. We will present it to all of Turkey. We will all have one final discussion together. Then we will implement it. Party programs are vision documents regarding how parties intend to govern the country and how the country should be managed. It was worked on with extreme meticulousness in 81 provinces and 973 districts. Provincial reports came in again. We worked with academics and non-governmental organizations.

We worked with bar associations for the sake of law. Alongside what came from all provinces, we worked at the Ankara level. We read the programs of the world's successful Social Democratic parties. We summarized and quoted them. We have reached a certain point. But it is clear that governing the country, especially in this system and this regime, requires a different name, a different stance, and a stance that is parallel to the party's attitude but consists of clear statements.

On one hand, there is a ground where, against those who hold all the state's resources in their hands, who say 'I do everything,' who place advertisements in the name of the 'Century of Turkey' using the state's ministries and have special newspapers printed for what each ministry will do, the presidential candidate must undoubtedly state how they will govern this country and how they will fix it.

But on the other hand, behind the candidate are the votes cast by 15,500,000 citizens, and in front of him are the iron bars of Silivri. For this, for this, those who think that they will ban Ekrem İmamoğlu, who became our presidential candidate on March 23 with the votes of 15,500,000 of our citizens, from politics by keeping him physically in his cell, that they will break his determination, that they will intimidate and destroy him, and that his political friends will turn their backs on him and leave him there, and even see this as an opportunity for themselves, have not known the Republican People's Party. From that day to this, as the party's chairman, I, our group deputy chairmen, our deputy chairmen, and our deputies have visited them almost every week, sometimes more than once. Of course, we expressed our feelings of solidarity.

But we sat down, worked, and we continue to work. As the cadres who made our party the 1st party in Turkey in the local elections, the Turkey Alliance, which enabled us to be the 1st by a wide margin today, continues to bring together all segments of society. The resistance after the March 19 coup once again showed this unity. Just as this unity defends democracy against the coup, it also contains the power to build Turkey's future.

"WE WILL STRENGTHEN THE UNITY EVEN FURTHER"

We see the answer to the question of what kind of Turkey we want to live in, which the nation is struggling for in the name of democracy, everywhere in our country, from Bayburt to Yozgat, from Van to Istanbul. Just as the aunt in Bayburt asks to explain the gold, the tradesman in Istanbul asks how you will solve it. Of course, we continue the struggle. However, regarding how we will solve it, we are working together to build a common future that will carry Turkey to the respectable place it deserves, catch up with the great changes brought by the era, and enable all our citizens to live a dignified life on the path to becoming a country that directs the era. With these efforts, we will also shape the government program of the common future we will establish together.

With the completion of the party's program, we will further strengthen the unity represented by the Turkey Alliance, starting from there. We have prepared and designed the institutional structure of our government program preparations. With great pleasure, we will describe and realize its announcement today, its physical position in the coming days, and then its opening and the path we will walk together. With this institutional structure, we will take the contributions of Republican People's Party members and everyone who sees themselves as part of the Turkey Alliance. We have established our Presidential candidacy office with the determination to ensure this unity and to create our government program in the most inclusive way. I would like to give you the good news of this here.

Our Presidential candidacy office, which will be embodied by our party's resources and buildings, has materialized today as the power steps of our new political understanding, with an approach that centers on solidarity and division of labor based on horizontal hierarchy within itself. Our goal is to make our country strong and secure in a renewed world with a government program, to establish a rich, prosperous, and fair order, and to ensure the guarantee of a new life where freedom, democracy, the rule of law prevail, and citizens are happy and peaceful.

Our Presidential candidacy office and the Presidential candidacy process that we announced today is not, and cannot be, just one person's journey to power. It is the very determination to build the future that millions dream of, together with Ekrem İmamoğlu, starting from today. This is the place where the work of building a common future with our Presidential office candidate, our party, and the Turkey Alliance will be carried out. Everyone who wants to contribute to the campaign work to be carried out from today until election day, parallel to the party program, and to the preparation work of the government program, is a natural member and supporter of the candidacy office.

"I CONSIDER IT A DUTY BEFORE EACH OF YOU..."

We expect all organized structures we are in contact with—from the Republican People's Party's Central Executive Board, Party Assembly, parliamentary group, provincial chairs, district chairs, to women's and youth branches—to take an active role in carrying out the work of the Presidential candidacy office, to own the product that will emerge, and to explain that product door-to-door across all of Turkey instead of our candidate inside, to deliver it to those concerned, and to carry our Presidential candidate's ideal of governing Turkey, his ideas, and concrete proposals to Anatolia door-to-door, street-by-street, house-by-house, shuttle-by-shuttle, coffeehouse-by-coffeehouse, field-by-field. We are defining such a task.

Since the execution of such comprehensive and inclusive work and ensuring coordination with different party organs requires central coordination, we determined a 3-person executive committee that will ensure this coordination in the meeting we held with our President Ekrem yesterday. On behalf of the Republican People's Party Headquarters, we have appointed our Secretary General Ms. Selin Sayek Böke for coordination, Mr. Bülent Tezcan representing our group from the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Mr. Serkan Özcan from our Presidential candidate's close working team to this 3-person committee to ensure this coordination.

I consider it a duty to announce this to the entire Turkish public before each of you. From now on, our group, our headquarters, and President Ekrem's team will work together on the takeover of Turkey's government once again by a Republican People's Party President. Then, the re-strengthening of the parliament we have established. With the strengthening of this parliamentary group and this parliament, the strengthened parliamentary system and the correct design of all its requirements. Besides this, we will work together on how we will solve problems, how we will lower inflation, how we will lower interest rates, how we will eliminate income inequality, how justice will be ensured in courts and taxes, and how a Turkey will be ensured where young people's eyes are not on the other side of the world, but where all the world's youth's eyes are on us, which is the management system we expressed in our will to govern Turkey in the last term, alongside a strong parliament. While the difference between our party and the AK Party has risen to 6-7 points, and the total votes of the People's Alliance are now competing with the Republican People's Party for first and second place, while the legitimacy crisis created by those who came out of the ballot box is seeing reaction rather than support in the field and on the street, while a social collapse created by institutional collapse is looking for hope on one side, hope is, as it was 100 years ago, the Republic itself. It is the Republican People's Party.

"GREETINGS TO THOSE WHO DO NOT SURRENDER"

We have gone through difficult days, and we will continue to do so. We have suffered a lot, and we will continue to do so. A government accustomed to 23 years of such crime, corruption, bad relations, and using the authority it has obtained in the worst way would probably not have prepared flowers and waited for us at the door to hand over power. Of course, it was going to be difficult. We did not expect this much lawlessness, this much injustice, this much lack of conscience, but no one should expect to go to power by walking through a rose garden. The march to power is a path that will be walked by paying the price, by dying if necessary, by waiting for that day in prison if necessary, but by not surrendering. Greetings to those who do not surrender. Let it be a trouble to those who expect us to surrender. This will is our strength. Your fear is your desperation. We will win. The nation will win, the people will win. May the path of all of us be clear.