CHP leader Özgür Özel's response on early elections: 'I want an early election next week'

CHP leader Özgür Özel answered questions from journalists following the funeral ceremony held at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) for Yaşar Yakış, the 22nd and 23rd Term Deputy for Düzce and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the 58th Government.

'I WANT IT TO BE NEXT WEEK'

Özel stated the following:

"Regarding the issue of early elections, we as the CHP are making the same assessment consistently.

During the March 31 elections, we said that if you ask for votes from the electorate, this is a local election and we are asking for votes from the voters of all political parties. I am aware of the credit we have received; I said I would not make an early election assessment by attributing these results solely to our party.

For the fourth month in a row, we are maintaining our position as the leading party in the polls. Under these conditions, one must look at whether the public wants it. Even when there is no such demand, it increases every day.

HE POINTED TO THE 360-VOTE REQUIREMENT

To hold an early election, the votes of 360 deputies are needed. As of today, we do not have such a number of deputies in the ruling power anyway. Politically, there are certain conditions for resisting an early election; if you do not raise the minimum wage while the economy is going this badly, if you turn a deaf ear to this voice while retirement pensions are at the level of 370 euros, and if you do not listen to the tradesmen, the knife reaches the bone. The citizen wants an early election and sends you away.

My assessment is this: I don't think the 5 years will be completed; there will be an early election in 2.5 years, right in the middle. I see an early election 1.5 years from today as possible. Do I want it? I want it to be next week. When the party is the leading party and the CHP has become the hope of people in such a difficult situation, why wouldn't I want it?

FIRST COMMENT ON ERDOĞAN'S 'NORMALIZATION' EXPRESSION

As long as the AKP and MHP do not vote for it, it does not matter that we call for an early election. If they continue like this politically, an early election becomes inevitable.

For a long time, we were saying 'normalization,' and Mr. Erdoğan was saying 'softening.' Since yesterday, he has returned to the terminology we use in this process and has also started saying 'normalization.'

No one should expect a softening from the opposition in this process, but a ground for dialogue is necessary.

SİNAN ATEŞ REFERENCE

I see their acceptance of the word 'normalization' as a positive development. With such heavy and harsh conditions within the 'softening,' is the opposition supposed to soften? They should not soften either; they should normalize.

In normal democracies, governments comply with the decisions of the Constitutional Court and the ECHR. Ruling partners do not threaten people at every stage of the day, do not say they will close the Constitutional Court, and do not try to cover a murder with a veil of fog."

WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

Speaking to BirGün columnist Doğan Tılıç, CHP Leader Özgür Özel stated that his words regarding early elections were not understood correctly, saying, "Turkey will get rid of the Erdoğan administration in the first election. The first election I mean is not 2028. I said I would not ask for an election by instrumentalizing the March 31 election results. This does not mean I do not want an election. I want it the most. The citizens, as the polls show, have also slowly started to want an election. Erdoğan was elected for 5 years, but I think there will be an early election 2.5 years after he was elected, 1.5 years from today. I do not run away from an early election; I would run for it."