Hikmet Çetin reveals what Kılıçdaroğlu said! 'When I went to visit him...'

A critical development has occurred in the lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the CHP İstanbul Provincial Congress held on October 8, 2023. The Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance, as part of an interim decision, ruled for the removal of CHP İstanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik, as well as the members of the provincial executive board and the provincial disciplinary board. An interim administration consisting of Gürsel Tekin, Zeki Şen, Hasan Babacan, Müjdat Gürbüz, and Ekran Narsap was appointed in their place.

While the removal decision became a major topic in politics, the visit of former CHP Chairman Hikmet Çetin to MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli at his office led to various interpretations. It was alleged that during this visit, Çetin told Bahçeli that "if a decision of absolute nullity is issued, he wanted himself, not Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, to be appointed to the CHP Chairmanship."

ÇETİN: "I WENT TO CONGRATULATE HIM"

Speaking to HaberTürk columnist Nagehan Alçı, Çetin denied the allegations and said the following:

"No, I went to congratulate him entirely because of his stance regarding the peace process, because I think he is doing a tremendous job. Coalitions are actually beneficial and successful if they are formed between very different parties."

"THE GÜRSEL TEKİN DECISION SURPRISED ME"

To Alçı's question, "Did the Gürsel Tekin decision surprise you? And can he set foot in the CHP İstanbul provincial building?", Çetin gave the following response:

"I was surprised, and how; I never expected such a thing from him." He then added, "He is close to Kemal Bey, but he had wanted the candidacy for Beykoz and then Kadıköy; they didn't give it to him, and he left.

No, it's impossible; all the provincial chairs are already here. Ms. Nagehan, it is impossible to accept these decisions; the congresses in question were held under the supervision of the Supreme Election Council (YSK), there can be no hesitation regarding the finality of YSK decisions, and they cannot be appealed to any place, including the Constitutional Court."

"CHP IS PROVIDING THE MATERIAL FROM WITHIN ITSELF"

To Alçı's question, "Well, what about the allegations regarding money exchanges, the statements that entered the indictment... Is there no truth to any of these?", Çetin responded as follows:

"Look, if it happened, it is wrong; of course, it should never happen, but the congress was held and, as I said, the YSK was there; the judiciary does not have the authority to cancel this later. Furthermore, Kemal Bey is digging into these allegations. When I went to visit him, he was complaining that 'they bought Istanbul.'"

"Frankly, I am saddened and surprised to see this situation that the CHP has fallen into. The party is providing the material from within itself that invites this environment."