CHP Chairman Özgür Özel responds to Kılıçdaroğlu without delay

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made significant statements regarding the recent internal party debates while answering questions from Sözcü TV's Ankara Representative, Aslı Kurtuluş Mutlu.

In response to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's comments regarding the police intervention at the party headquarters—where he asked, 'How can members of parliament be denied entry? That is the people's party'—Özel explained the background of the events.

Özel expressed that there was a different intent behind the events with the following words:

"We had met with Mr. Kemal one day before the attack on our party. We had each appointed two people to determine the date for the party congress. In fact, a meeting was planned for 12:00 PM. However, the two people appointed by Mr. Kemal unexpectedly arrived in front of the party building at 7:00 AM, accompanied by mafia-like groups. From what I have read, Mr. Kemal said he did not send those people early in the morning, and I cannot believe that. While the meeting was supposed to take place at 12:00 PM, going to the party headquarters early in the morning with both mafia-like and pro-Erdoğan groups is inconsistent with an intention to reach a consensus. Furthermore, those deputies did not request to enter the building individually; they wanted to enter together with the groups they brought with them. Inside, there was already a tense crowd. If they had entered, undesirable scenes could have occurred."

Özel stated that it was quickly understood that the deputies, who had an appointment for 12:00 PM, gathering at the party door hours earlier did not reflect good intentions.

Another important agenda item was the issue of an extraordinary party congress. In response to Kılıçdaroğlu's remark, 'If it were up to me, I would do it tomorrow,' referring to the judicial process regarding the congress, Özel evaluated the congress process with these words:

"An ordinary or extraordinary congress is the founding will of the party. Temporary injunctions issued by the judiciary do not prevent a congress from being held. The real issue here is will and intent. Let's say we decided to hold a congress, but the AK Party's judiciary put an obstacle in our way. Then we would stand together against it. It is not court decisions or anything else that shapes the CHP; the CHP is defined by politics itself. Furthermore, there is no legal obstacle to the congress taking place in 45 days. As long as there is desire and will, this process can be managed through 3 or 4 different methods."