Özgür Özel is the architect of the 'İmamoğlu' vs. 'Yavaş' debate

Former CHP Secretary General Gürsel Tekin was the guest on the Siyasetin İçinden program, broadcast on 12punto. 

Gürsel Tekin stated that criticism is a natural right as long as it does not harm the party's institutional structure. Drawing attention to the problems within the party, Tekin remarked, "We see many people being expelled from the party here. This situation shows that there must be a guarantee for membership rights."

'THERE SHOULD BE A MORE PARTICIPATORY STRUCTURE'

Emphasizing that the CHP needs to achieve a more participatory structure, Tekin said, ''You have to open the party to the public. You have an opponent; you may underestimate them, but you are facing a party with 11 million 500 thousand members. We still do not have members in 17 thousand neighborhoods."

Gürsel Tekin also stated that this deficiency is problematic not only in terms of ballot box security but also in terms of participatory democracy.

Former CHP Secretary General Gürsel Tekin made striking assessments regarding his party's shortcomings in election processes. 

CHP HAS NO REPRESENTATIVES AT 11 THOUSAND 800 BALLOT BOXES

Highlighting that the CHP has no representatives at 11 thousand 800 ballot boxes, Tekin assessed this as a very dire situation for the Republican People's Party.

Addressing the party's administrators in Ankara, Tekin said, "All our friends in Ankara, our 'friends in ties,' take off your ties and go investigate how we received 0 votes at 11 thousand 800 ballot boxes."

Touching on the importance of ballot box security, Tekin issued warnings, saying, "It is not who casts the vote that matters, but who counts the vote." He added that he has not been invited to television programs following these criticisms.

'WE HAVE STARTED TO RESEMBLE THE GOVERNMENT'

Former CHP Secretary General Gürsel Tekin expressed his concerns regarding the authoritarian tendencies within his party's internal structure. 

Tekin stated, "We have also started to slowly resemble the authoritarian structure created by the government. This actually scares me a lot."

Responding to the question asked by Onur Alp Yılmaz regarding the presidential candidacy, Gürsel Tekin used the following expressions: 

''What was being said in all the debates on television as soon as the local elections ended in 2019? Will the candidate be Abdullah Gül, Ekrem İmamoğlu, or Mansur Yavaş? I told the Chairman many times, both in closed group meetings and otherwise, that when the day and time come, you should make whoever you want the presidential candidate. But I said, do not turn this into a debate today; it will turn into a campaign. You cannot stop this. There is no response. We are entering the same danger again.''