Tough question for Kılıçdaroğlu from Fatih Altaylı: He brings up the hotel he stayed at after the 2023 election

Journalist Fatih Altaylı evaluated the allegations that have recently surfaced regarding former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in his column. Following statements that Kılıçdaroğlu's office, vehicle, and personnel expenses were covered by businessman Nafer Çapar, Altaylı also posed a question regarding the costs of the hotel where he allegedly stayed after the 2023 Presidential election.

In his article, Altaylı stated that Kılıçdaroğlu had acknowledged that his aforementioned expenses were covered by a businessman, identifying this person as contractor Nafer Çapar.

He addressed the relationship between Nafer Çapar and the CHP

Fatih Altaylı claimed that Nafer Çapar was not just a businessman close to the CHP.

In his article, Altaylı alleged that companies owned by Çapar carried out the CHP's conventions, rallies, and various organizations during Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's chairmanship, using the phrase, "Here is the honest Kılıçdaroğlu."

Altaylı also argued that the organizations of some CHP-run municipalities were undertaken by the same companies, asserting that Nafer Çapar received high-value payments from the CHP during the Kılıçdaroğlu era.

In his column, Altaylı stated that it is ethically controversial for political figures to have their personal expenses covered by individuals with whom they have business relationships, arguing that this situation could have a negative impact on the independence of politicians and the public's perception of honesty.

Altaylı used the following expressions in his assessment:

"Not having put money in his pocket or having a very modest kitchen does not prove that one is honest. You cannot speak of honesty the moment you enter into personal financial dealings with businesspeople. The moment you become indebted to businesspeople, honesty has ended."

He brought up the hotel he stayed at after the 2023 election

In his article, Fatih Altaylı also recalled that after the 2023 Presidential election, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu went on vacation, and reports were published in media outlets close to the government claiming he stayed at a hotel where the nightly rate was allegedly 15 thousand dollars.

Recalling these allegations, Altaylı questioned who covered the cost of the hotel.

At the end of his column, Altaylı posed the following question:

"Did Nafer Çapar also pay the bill for that hotel, which, in the words of the pro-government media, 'reached into the millions,' or are there other contractors we don't know about?"

What had happened?

After losing his position as CHP Chairman, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had announced that the rent for the office he used in Ankara, as well as his vehicle, security, and personnel expenses, were being covered by a businessman. Şaban Sevinç had claimed that this person was Nafer Çapar.

In his statement, which he based on CHP sources, Sevinç had alleged that Çapar addressed Kılıçdaroğlu as "uncle" and that there was a kinship between them. He had also argued that Çapar was close enough to enter Kılıçdaroğlu's home and office with ease.

It was alleged that Nafer Çapar undertook the organization of the CHP's election campaigns, rallies, conventions, and provincial congresses during the Kılıçdaroğlu era. It was also claimed that the organization work for some CHP-run municipalities, primarily Ataşehir, Maltepe, Istanbul, and İzmir, was given to Çapar's companies.

Sevinç had claimed that Çapar received approximately 13.6 million dollars in exchange for the CHP's rally organizations, and approximately 1.8 million dollars for the hall organization of the 38th Ordinary Convention on November 4, 2023. He stated that these payments reached approximately 723 million liras at the current exchange rate.

Sevinç had also argued that Kılıçdaroğlu did not make a detailed statement regarding the donations collected and expenditures made during the 2023 Presidential election campaign. He had said that it should be disclosed to the public whether payments were made to Nafer Çapar's companies from the campaign budget.