Aziz Yıldırım's striking 'candidacy' statement: He specifies his condition

Former Fenerbahçe president Aziz Yıldırım has announced that he will become a candidate if signatures are collected exceeding the 16,464 votes received by Ali Koç last year by one.

Aziz Yıldırım stated, "If our community believes that I should take responsibility in the face of the current situation, they must substantiate this call with a document showing one more vote than the current elected administration received."

Aziz Yıldırım said, "Those who invite me to take responsibility or accuse me of avoiding responsibility must show themselves and me that democratic legitimacy is fully and completely established with 16,464 + 1 signatures. Only then, I want it to be known that I will be there with all my being, just as I laid everything on the line yesterday, and I will stand without blinking in the fight against the enemies of Fenerbahçe tomorrow with the same faith and determination."

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HERE IS THE FULL STATEMENT

Dear congress members, dear Fenerbahçe fans,

First of all, I congratulate Fenerbahçe Beko, the champion that brought the Euroleague Cup to our country once again, and I would like to thank all our executives, President Mr. Ali Koç, our athletes, technical teams, and club professionals who contributed to this championship once again.

It has become necessary to make a statement so that the public knows that the news and various speculations in the press and social media where my name is mentioned occur outside of my knowledge and will, and to put an end to these speculations.

Today, the real issue of Fenerbahçe is not the cups that cannot be won, but the lost resilience, hope, and the acceptance of being an ordinary sports club. This situation is a state of numbness that Fenerbahçe fans, who are veterans of the War of Independence and the young spirit of resistance, must oppose with objection and, if necessary, rebellion. Fenerbahçe does not accept any defeat in advance and cannot associate any situation other than leadership with itself as success. Because Fenerbahçe is a spirit that became a symbol of resistance while the homeland was being attempted to be destroyed from within.

Fenerbahçe has neither the time nor the energy to be wasted on internal club disputes. Today, the only thing Fenerbahçe needs is to get rid of the atmosphere of preemptive surrender, which is called losing without playing, and to stand up for victories that will cross the borders of Turkey.

It is not me or the current administrators who will decide whether the administrations are successful or not, but our congress members and our fans.

It is observed that there are calls within our community for an elective congress to be held upon the call of the administration, for the administration to refresh its confidence, or for a new administration to be elected. Our club president, Mr. Ali Koç, expressed his decision to hold a congress in September to the public and to me personally in our private meeting. I expressed my opinion to him in this meeting that if a congress is to be held, it would be correct to hold it without delay, before September, and I present this to our community in this statement as well.

On this occasion, I believe I have an obligation to respond to the calls and efforts for me to take responsibility and become a candidate for club presidency again to quench our club's long-standing championship longing.

I am a Fenerbahçe president who institutionalized the expansion of membership to a wide base by opening the doors of our club to all Fenerbahçe fans. I am loyally committed to our club traditions and our internal club democracy. I have not avoided taking responsibility, and I will not avoid it. But I will never stoop to the absurdity of taking it upon myself to act.

Our community will have no doubt that Aziz Yıldırım is a Fenerbahçe fan who approaches the situation with this spirit, whether as president or as a simple member.

Of course, our board of directors has the right to leave the extraordinary general assembly decision to September, and it is legitimate.

However, it is also a right and legitimate for our congress members who have lost confidence in the administration to call the congress to duty by collecting signatures.

The truth that I wish to be known regarding myself around these discussions is this:

Being a party to any discussion that divides our community is a stance I will never adopt. For this reason, I should not be expected to take it upon myself to act from the current situation. I have no desire to enter into a polemic with the administration or anyone else within our community. In short, I am no one's rival; I am Fenerbahçe itself.

Just as I am no one's rival, I do not feel any obligation to enter into a race with anyone. I believe that I demonstrated my sense of responsibility for Fenerbahçe by being a candidate in previous congresses.

This attitude is not avoiding responsibility, but on the contrary, acting responsibly.

As will be remembered, the current administration was elected to office by receiving 16,464 votes in the election race in which I was also a participant.

Despite this, if our community thinks that I should take responsibility in the face of the current situation, they must substantiate this call with a document showing 1 more than the votes received by the elected current administration.

Those who invite me to take responsibility or accuse me of avoiding responsibility must show themselves and me that democratic legitimacy is fully and completely established with 16,464 + 1 signatures.

Only then, I want it to be known that I will be there with all my being, just as I laid everything on the line yesterday, and I will stand without blinking in the fight against the enemies of Fenerbahçe tomorrow with the same faith and determination.

Because even if we were on the gallows, our first word and our last word is Fenerbahçe.

Sincerely,

Aziz YILDIRIM