CHP chairmanship candidate Özgür Özel gives figures: We are leading 55 to 45 percent

CHP Group Chairman and chairmanship candidate Özgür Özel evaluated the Congress process during a meeting with members of the press at a hotel. While expressing that they would win the Congress, Özel provided figures for the first time.

"WE BELIEVE THERE HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH OF A VOICE"

Stating that they found the three-day mourning period and the joint declaration published in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to be correct, Özel said, "Until the night of October 17, we condemn both the terror of Hamas, which initiated the conflicts and launched rocket attacks targeting civilians indiscriminately, and the state terror of Israel, which caused civilian deaths in response. We believe that there has not been enough of a voice from either Turkey or the world regarding the deaths of civilians, and that international organizations have not shown the necessary reaction with the necessary severity on this issue."

"WE PLAN TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF TURKEY"

Stating that the entire organization has now accepted the change, Özgür Özel emphasized that they have never conducted the congress process in an environment of tension or conflict, and that they will not do so in the future.

Özel spoke as follows:

"This party is needed by us on November 6. Everyone in this party is needed. There is no one we will lose in this party on November 6. When we reach November 6, we have a goal of getting this party back on its feet, motivating this organization, and winning the upcoming local elections. We plan to be in the presence of Turkey on November 6 with a team that centers the CHP organization, centers change, and will truly make people say 'The party has changed, this team will succeed' with its way of doing politics, its staff, and its leaders."

"YOU WILL SEE THAT FRIENDS WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE PAST SUPPORT US IN THE CHANGE TEAM"

"A political party must be like a forest. There must be new saplings, young trees, but of course, experienced oaks as well. We don't call a place with only brand-new trees a forest; we call it a nursery. But in this process, there is a clear difference between the presence of friends who have served in the past both at the headquarters and here; our friends at the headquarters always say, 'Our chairman will continue, and we will continue,' while our friends on our side say, 'Change should start with us; we will support from now on, but we will not be in the management staff.' Therefore, you will see that friends who have served in the past support us and vote for us in the change team, but they will not take part in the management staff at their own request."

"WE ARE AHEAD"

Özel also answered questions from journalists. Özel responded to the question, "With the support of how many delegates do you expect to be nominated?" as follows:

"There can be no situation as lacking in decorum, as offensive, or as disturbing to all of us as carrying an internal competition of the CHP into the General Assembly hall. We attribute this to the friends who took part there succumbing to their ambitions. Actually, you wouldn't think anyone would ever stoop to such a thing, but unexpected things happen from their perspective. Imagine a deputy being presented with something like 'Should our chairman be the chairman?'—whoever among us is asked, we would all say 'yes.' You saw the 91 signatures, the 39 names who did not sign; look carefully, I appear to have signed. Sezgin Tanrıkulu appears to have signed. Sezgin Tanrıkulu called me saying, 'I did not sign, no one asked me.' If we dug deeper, who knows what would come out. They are trying to do something like this: 'It's bad in the field, in the provinces, but we are leading 40 to 90 in the parliamentary group.' If they are so curious, let me tell them: we are leading 55 to 45 in the parliamentary group, that's how it looks. The majority of the parliamentary group is in favor of change. Believe me, if you asked the ushers in Parliament, they would know. This is something even the deaf sultan knows; change is one step ahead in the group. But we have strictly kept the parliamentary group out of this business until today."