Erdoğan attacks Özgür Özel over paid military service: 'Now he has come out and...'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at his party's Sivas Rally held at the Historical City Square.

Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

"13 TIMES BYE BYE KEMAL"

"Turkey has solved many of its problems and addressed its shortcomings over the last 21 years. It has reached places that were once unimaginable. We have written history in every field. We have practically changed the face of all our villages, down to the most remote corners of our 81 provinces and 922 districts. Did we bring our Sivas together with the high-speed train, the greatest facility of the modern world? No matter what we did, we could never manage to raise the standards of the CHP and the opposition. Slogans and rhetoric have changed in this party over time. General chairmen have also changed, but none of them have been a remedy for the CHP's political exhaustion. Every newcomer makes one miss the predecessor. We didn't get along well with the deposed chairman, 'Bye Bye Kemal.' Even though he would get on an escalator the wrong way or couldn't vote for himself in the elections he was a candidate in—meaning he made us and our nation laugh many times throughout his political life—'Bye Bye Kemal' had his own unique style, rhetoric, and way of doing politics. 13 times, bye bye Kemal."

REACTION TO ÖZGÜR ÖZEL OVER 'PAID MILITARY SERVICE'

"The new chairman of the CHP, however, has been a complete disappointment in every respect. Since we did not follow the 'middle plays' he performed on his own, we had no idea about his caliber. We didn't expect this much either. Even those who brought him to that seat did not predict that he would be so ill-suited for it. Every time he opens his mouth, he either makes a gaffe or openly insults a segment of society. Now he has come out and said, 'Those who do paid military service should not vote for us, we don't want them.' His masters must have pulled his ear, as he later tried to correct this tactlessness. Our conscripted soldiers only perform support duties. We are melting away the congestion caused by our decreasing need for soldiers through the paid military service practice. The CHP Chairman cannot be ignorant enough not to know these things. If not, we are facing another game. Let the CHP Chairman not ask for votes from those who fulfill their military service through the paid option. Let him exclude other segments of society through various tests. Let him not refrain from 'brewing' with the extensions of the separatist organization while doing all this. We will never be among those who pursue separatism. We will also not be among those who are arrogant toward the nation."

"WE EXPECT A RECORD SUPPORT FROM SIVAS"

"All 85 million have a place in our hearts. We are candidates for the votes of all our citizens, every single member of our nation, without any discrimination. We expect very strong support in this election from our people whose hope has faded. None of our citizens are condemned or forced to accept this lack of caliber. As the AK Party and the People's Alliance, we are at the service of our noble nation with our determination to make Turkey a regional and global power and with our 'Century of Turkey' vision. Sivas is a witness to this great leap forward. Our goal is to open the doors to a new era for our country by bringing all 81 of our provinces together with the 'Century of Turkey' municipalism on March 31. We expect record support from Sivas."

WHAT HAPPENED?

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel met with voters at a rally held in the Soma district of Manisa on March 2, 2024.

Özel's remarks, "We want votes from those who love Turkey, not from those who run away to paid military service; we want votes from those who are willing to give their lives for this homeland if necessary," had drawn backlash.

CHP leader Özel corrected his words on his X account as follows:

"Of course, those who do paid military service are also children of this nation, as are those who do regular military service... You are getting 'unfit for service' reports for your own children, making them do paid service, and then you are playing politics over someone else's poor child... That is what I am asking about, that!"