Erkan Baş speaks at Gebze-Darıca workers' meeting

According to the report by Gerçek Gündem; TİP Chairman Erkan Baş, following his announcement on social media that he is his party's mayoral candidate for the Gebze district of Kocaeli, met with party members at a meeting held in a wedding hall in the Darıca district of Kocaeli.

"WE LOOK AT THE CANDIDATES, WE CAN'T EVEN TELL WHICH PARTY THEY ARE RUNNING FOR"

Speaking at the 'Gebze-Darıca Workers' Meeting' program, Baş said:

“In about 40 days, a local election will be held in Turkey. I am following it, and you must be following it too. There are truly some discussions taking place regarding the local elections. Things are being said, things are being debated. Everyone should put their hand on their conscience and ask themselves, 'Do we feel any election excitement? Do we feel any hope for the election?

Is there really a feeling in any province, any district, or any neighborhood in Turkey that a change will take place after these elections?' We are heading toward such a strange election that, if we set aside a few provinces and districts, nobody cares whether there is an election in Turkey on March 31 or not. Because with each passing day, the establishment politicians and the establishment parties have all become more similar to each other.

We look at the candidates, we can't even tell which party they are running for. We look at their words, we listen to the promises they make. There is no difference even in these. In short, the establishment parties have all become much more similar to each other, much more uniform. In Turkey, the mentality of 'That's how it has been, that's how it will go' has become dominant. We reject this course of events, this status quo that dominates Turkish politics, and the mentality of 'This place belongs to Party A, that place belongs to Party B, it won't change no matter what you do. This alliance wins here, that alliance wins there.' Let's start from here. Look at the candidate applications of the parties. If a party has won these elections in a place before, if its vote is high there, you see 20, 25, 37 candidate hopefuls emerging. If a party has not been able to win an election in that region before, there isn't even a single candidate hopeful. The election has turned into a choice of whom party headquarters will appoint as mayor in places where winning is guaranteed."

"THIS COUNTRY IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE BOSSES"

Stating that his candidacy would lead to Gebze being discussed across Turkey, TİP Chairman Baş said, "With our candidacy from Gebze, people are talking about 'What will happen in the Istanbul election?' and 'What will happen in the Hatay election?' in the local elections in Turkey, and now they are also talking about 'What will the working class do in this election?' There is no other discussion left regarding the elections in all of Turkey. I mean, if we couldn't do anything else, there is a working class in Turkey, my brother, there are laborers in this country. There are people who live by the sweat of their brow. This country is not just about bigwigs like you. This country is not just about the bosses.

We became candidates from Gebze to show this. Even this in itself is an important thing. They say workers, laborers, and the poor in Turkey vote for right-wing parties. Look, we will change this too. Do you know what this is, friends? It is a gang that has seized state resources. They have seized the religious sects and communities, and they are conducting politics through them. They make workers and laborers work in the worst conditions, unorganized, for long hours, without job security, and for low wages.

Then they have seized the media resources. As if it were not enough that they have surrounded them with their sects, they are condemning people to poverty by making 'homeland, nation, Sakarya' rhetoric morning and night through a storm of lies and a media blockade. They ensure the continuity of a system where they hold people captive by using religion and people's love for the country. Look, we promise. We will go door to door, street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood," he said.

"WE CAN WIN THESE ELECTIONS"

Stating that Gebze is a worker city and that he wants to govern Gebze together with the workers, Baş said, "Look, I am saying this very clearly. Please do not misunderstand. I do not need the Gebze Mayoralty. I am not aspiring to sit in the Gebze Mayor's chair here. The meaning of my candidacy here is, can we use it as a vehicle for the workers to govern Gebze? Can we ensure that the workers govern Gebze? Then what will we do?

I am making a call from here to all unions, labor organizations, and professional organizations. For example, we should prepare our municipal council work together tomorrow morning. I mean, these are not things that only Supermen or great heroes can come and achieve. We do not believe in that. After that, every worker friend of ours in Gebze should be a partner in our aspiration to govern Gebze. Everyone should be aware that we are candidates to govern Gebze all together. If every friend of ours thinks 'I am a candidate for mayor,' we can win these elections," he expressed.