Election self-criticism from AKP Deputy Chairman Yılmaz

Yılmaz, at a meeting where he came together with his party's Gümüşhane provincial organization members, stated that they have been evaluating the election results by visiting provinces, particularly after the March 31 local elections, with mayors, district chairs, provincial chairs, core staff members, and council members.

Yılmaz said, "The March 31 elections are behind us. We have a lot of processes ahead of us. Let us do what needs to be done in this process. Let us also learn from it. Let us not act as if it never happened. Let us put the facts that emerged from there on the table. Let us keep that in mind as well. I have a request from you.

The issue regarding the results of the March 31 elections is already being discussed thoroughly by my party's high boards as to where we fell short, but there is something I want to say to the loyal, long-suffering people here, including myself, my friends: in our failure to achieve the result we expected in these March 31 elections, do I also have a shortcoming? We must ask ourselves the first question." he said.

"WE ARE RUNNING AT FULL SPEED"

Stating that he wanted to convey a message in Gümüşhane, Yılmaz used the following expressions: "With God's permission, we are not at all content with the results that emerged in the March 31 elections. We are striving to compensate for this, to build the future, and to continue our party's new political struggle and the struggle of the upcoming process at full speed. We are in the midst of preparations for our upcoming congress. After that, the 2028 process begins. In the process that follows, 2029 begins. We are running at full speed to build the future within the turbulence of such rapidly flowing time. May God be pleased with you all."

Yılmaz continued as follows:

"Friends, let us put aside our hurt feelings. This issue of being hurt, of having hurt others, is something we experience in our humanity, in every human being who carries an ego; we live a life where we place ourselves at the center of human relations—not just in political events, but also in social life, kinship relations, neighborly relations, and normal life—where we keep a tally of the mistakes of the people in front of us, while accepting our own mistakes as if they never existed. Today, let us put aside the hurt feelings, the brokenness... 

The result we received in the March 31 elections is insufficient, but it is possible to compensate for it in the coming days. For this, we will hold hands. We will run a little harder. First, we will look for the shortcoming in ourselves. We will start a process regarding the compensation of shortcomings within ourselves first, and I want you to start the day tomorrow by saying 'Bismillah' with a stance that says we will run at full speed toward the future."

Emphasizing that knowing when to be silent in politics is more important than what needs to be said, Yılmaz said, "Politics is not a lane or a process where you say whatever comes to your mind. In politics, it is not important where you stand, but on which path you are running. If you are standing in one place, do not say, 'Because I am standing there, I am achieving the greatest gain for my party there, I am making them win there.' After the place where you stand, toward the future, as our President says 'continue on the path,' while continuing on that path, while running on that path, it is a service to the country where it is important which path you are running on and to what extent you contribute to our politics. It is a service to humanity." he said.

News Source: AA