First comment from Özgür Özel on DEM Party fielding candidates! He addressed Erdoğan and Bahçeli

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel made statements regarding the current agenda.

Responding to journalists' questions in Ankara, Özel spoke for the first time about the DEM Party and the New Welfare Party fielding candidates in Istanbul.

REACTION TO ERDOĞAN'S ZONGULDAK RALLY

Starting his speech by reacting to the words Erdoğan said at his Zonguldak rally, Özel asked, “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan must take his hands off the national will. What he is doing is a complete usurpation of the national will. He continues the hard-heartedness he showed in Hatay. In fact, he is reminding us of the words he said in Hatay. He is turning from Zonguldak and giving the same message to Hatay and to Turkey. If there is any validity to what Erdoğan says, why do we have local elections? Why are we electing mayors?”

DEM PARTY FIELDING CANDIDATES IN ISTANBUL

"The DEM Party is conducting its own process. They will make a decision, the microphones are in front of us. 'The DEM Party will not field candidates, they say you are 'DEM-ing' (colluding with DEM), what do you say?' The microphones are in front of us, you made a deal with DEM, they are not fielding candidates in major cities in Istanbul, they are supporting you. They say this is making a deal with the DEM Party, what do you say?'

Why don't these microphones go in front of Bahçeli? Was Bahçeli drinking tea with 'DEM' (steeped tea) this morning? Why don't these microphones go to Erdoğan? Has he collaborated with terrorism?

I said it on the first day. Whether it is Ms. Başak Demirtaş or the candidates announced today... It is the most democratic right of each of them to be a candidate. We do not interfere with anyone fielding or not fielding a candidate. A party fielding a candidate is a calculation related to itself.

If a party does not field a candidate, ask those who sip their steeped tea with relish this morning, Bahçeli and Erdoğan, about the slander of being 'DEM-ed' when they don't field a candidate and not being 'DEM-ed' when they do. We said this: We are in open communication with all political parties. The meeting we had with DEM is before your eyes. But the nation is asking in which channels, by whom, and with what promises some meetings are being conducted.

We have no words for the candidate anyone fields or does not field. We have no gratitude either. But those who deemed us worthy of countless insults in the event of not fielding a candidate now owe this nation an apology.

I wish success to the candidates of both the DEM Party and the New Welfare Party, and all political parties.

"WE HAVE SET OUT FOR THE GREATEST ALLIANCE"

The Republican People's Party has set out for the greatest alliance in Turkey's history. The name of this alliance is the Turkey Alliance. We respected the trust of our nation, which entrusted 11 metropolitan cities to us in the past elections. We took very good care of that trust. Now we are asking them for another 5-year term for that trust."

STATEMENT ON LÜTFÜ SAVAŞ

Özgür Özel also said the following regarding Lütfü Savaş's candidacy:

"There were protests in Hatay. If there were 100 protest remarks, 99 were directed at the government, but sources directed at the government claimed Lütfü Savaş was protested. Yes, we also heard the words of reproach for Mr. Lütfü. Politics is the art of hearing what the citizen says and receiving the message they give. As the CHP, we determined our candidates with very intensive surveys. We also value post-candidacy measurement and evaluation surveys. If these surveys signal in any way that we have made a mistake, this will be evaluated. It is also important to hear some voices rising in the square; it gives an idea. But the most important indicator before the ballot box to hear the voice of the nation is surveys conducted with very high samples. If we see something in the surveys, we will intervene."