Özgür Özel's explosive remarks on Gökhan Zan! He revealed the municipality he wanted...

As the local elections approach, the process of determining mayoral candidates, which was marked by debates and resignations within the Republican People's Party (CHP), has come to an end.

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made statements regarding the upcoming local elections and his party's mayoral candidates.

"THE TWO PROVINCES WHERE I AM MOST AT EASE ARE ANKARA AND ISTANBUL"

Stating that 149 of the current 249 mayors have been re-nominated, Özel said, "The two provinces where I am most at ease are Ankara and Istanbul. Mansur Yavaş and Ekrem İmamoğlu have a vote potential far above the party's. They are working very hard."

RESPONSE TO PURGE ALLEGATIONS

Responding to questions from Sözcü's Başak Kaya, Özel gave the following reply to allegations that those who supported Kılıçdaroğlu were being purged:

"The claim that those who supported Kılıçdaroğlu are being purged is the biggest lie I have ever heard in my life. Ahmet Akın was his number one aide. Our Bursa candidate is the same; he was very harsh towards me. We announced them first. Zeydan Karalar and Vahap Seçer, we didn't get a single vote. There was no one who supported Mr. Kemal as wholeheartedly as Aydın Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu. 220 of our 249 mayors became candidates. They were re-nominated at a rate of 56 percent. Predominantly, those who were elected during Mr. Kemal's term were re-nominated."

STATEMENT ON GÜRSEL TEKİN

Özel also spoke about Gürsel Tekin, who resigned after criticizing the party with harsh words.

Stating that he was very saddened by Tekin's resignation, Özel said, "He is a valuable name I love very much; I will call him. We were stuck between two candidates in Kadıköy. We decided 51 to 49 percent. The night before, Gürsel brother's name was mentioned, the next morning it wasn't, and the resignation came. Our Kadıköy candidate is brilliant. I believe that after the initial anger passes, Gürsel brother will return to his father's house. Everyone else might do it, but Tekin shouldn't. The voters don't find it right either."

EXPLOSIVE HATAY AND GÖKHAN STATEMENT

Özel also spoke about Lütfü Savaş's candidacy for Hatay, which has caused controversy in the public eye.

Saying that he is striving to do the right thing in Hatay, Özel continued as follows:

"Lütfü Savaş came out in many polls. There, Gökhan Zan organized a large group and showed a reaction. Zan requested the Arsuz Municipality from us. He said, 'I will work in harmony with Savaş.' Then he went to TİP. If I see an alternative to Savaş in the polls, I will change the candidate. But it is difficult to say anything without producing a better alternative. One more measurement will be taken. 60 of our Party Assembly members are tasked with gauging the pulse for Hatay. This is a result of our search to find what is right."

AN ALLIANCE IS BEING FORMED

Regarding the offers to Haluk Levent and Aylin Kotil, Özel said the following:

"Sometimes administrators conduct back-door diplomacy. If Mr. Haluk had said 'yes,' we would have conducted a poll. Ms. Aylin had a request in Istanbul. It should not be seen as an official offer." Regarding the DEM Party talks, he said, "We said that if there is a density of DEM voters in the region, a candidate they would also vote for could be determined. We are saying that we are talking. Those who hide this, those who treat it like a forbidden affair behind closed doors, are disrespectful to the voter... Is what we are doing 'DEM-ing' or what they are doing... Ours requires courage, theirs is cowardly... If DEM finds another party's candidate suitable and does not field a candidate, it means a city consensus has been reached. It is the exact time for a Turkey alliance; an alliance is being formed. It is an alliance formed in the field with the voter, not with political parties. The ideas of party administrations have changed, but we will see if the voters have changed. The voter will decide whether or not they want plots of land to be chosen by helicopter over Istanbul."