Breaking News... Özgür Özel challenges AKP to a by-election: 'Whoever doesn't bring the resignations of 55 MPs is a coward'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel made statements at his party's parliamentary group meeting.

Our Chairman Özgür Özel is speaking at our party's parliamentary group meeting. https://t.co/oU6Nqo6d5b

— CHP ???? (@herkesicinCHP) April 21, 2026

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli responded to CHP leader Özel, who has been persistent in his calls for a by-election, during his own group meeting today, stating, "It is clear when the ballot box will speak; its verdict will manifest when the time comes. There will be no room for intermediate formulas, circuitous paths, or arbitrary games," effectively closing the door on a by-election. Özel's response to Bahçeli is awaited with anticipation.

Regarding his call for a by-election, Özel said, "Whoever does not bring the resignations of 50 or 55 MPs to set up by-election ballot boxes across the widest geography of Turkey, not just 30, is a coward. I challenge you."

Özel noted the following:

"Well, they are saying this: 'Sir, let seats become vacant with more MP resignations, then do it.' Today, they have written here and there that we don't have the courage for this. I am saying it clearly, very clearly. To Mr. Bahçeli, to Mr. Erdoğan, to the AK Party, and to those who write and draw for them: Announce the date of the by-election. Declare that you will hold a by-election, that you will accept all resignations, and that you will not block the by-election with various tricks or schemes. Whoever does not bring the resignations of 50 or 55 MPs to set up by-election ballot boxes across the widest geography of Turkey, not just 30, is a coward. Challenge accepted! Challenge accepted! We say this from here with great confidence. We are ready for a by-election, and we are ready for an expanded by-election. We were ready for an early election yesterday, and we are prepared today. Challenge accepted! Let anyone who is confident face us."

The highlights from Özel's speech are as follows:

This high turnout at the group meeting gives anxiety to those who constantly confront us with evil and attack our friends—that is, those who are not our friends—while providing confidence to those who are. I am glad you are here... We have left behind a difficult week; our hearts were burned by the attacks first in Şanlıurfa and then in Kahramanmaraş.

SHARP REACTION TO TOM BARRACK

Following this, an insolent attack was also carried out against the Republic of Turkey. We are under the roof of the Parliament founded by Gazi Mustafa Kemal, where the words 'Sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation' are inscribed on the wall. Those who come to present their letters of credence to the person governing this country, claiming to respect this country, sit with their legs crossed, leaning back, sprawling out, and making careless remarks...

They are attempting to declare Trump's order in Turkey, and while this was happening, Erdoğan was asking his son to request an appointment with Trump.

I say this to those who remain silent when it is said that a strong leader monarchy is needed in these lands... In fact, the sides are clear. They are becoming clear in the world as well.

"EVERYONE IS WITH WHO THEY DESERVE"

Elon Musk and Donald Trump are supporting the AfD in Germany. They are trying to establish a new system that keeps all the world's autocrats together, where they learn from and support each other... Wherever there is a model that benefits them, they learn from one another, pushing back democracy and replacing the people with cliques, impoverishing the masses.

They are on the same side as Trump and the Netanyahu that Trump supports; we are on the same side as Gaza, Lula in Brazil, Sanchez in Spain, and all the democrats of the world. Everyone is with those they deserve.

Now, feeling desperate, they are lowering the curtains in their groups to show videos... They cut clips from past speeches, play lies, and then attack the CHP, its institutional identity, and its history... They cannot feel ashamed of Ecevit, they cannot feel ashamed of those who tore up the Treaty of Sèvres, and they cannot define a new, anti-democratic path for the CHP, as they cannot even follow the path of the Gazi.

Following these remarks, Özel played a video featuring Tom Barrack's comments regarding Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"THESE ARE SIGNS OF THEIR DEPARTURE"

The lynchings on social media, the targeting... No one should lose heart... These are signs of their departure; one cannot come to power without going through this resistance. All our friends are aware of the issue.

The sides are clear for the change of power in Turkey. Just as Erdoğan, Trump, and Israel stand on the same side in the world and define a power for themselves, we are with Palestine and with all the democrats of the world...

We are waiting for the first election to be held. In the first election, just as in Hungary, we will defeat the autocrat and all those who pin their hopes on him. We will bring democracy back to Turkey.

SCHOOL MASSACRES

This week is the week of April 23, yet we are talking about bloody attacks in schools. The attacks in Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş are not isolated incidents. They are indicators of the state's collapse in the social sphere. We have been speaking out for years, identifying the problems, and offering solutions.

During this minister's tenure, there have been 45 attacks in schools. Under this minister, 6 teachers, 11 students, 2 school staff members, and 1 parent have lost their lives.

DAWN RAIDS ON MINERS SEEKING JUSTICE

Would those who show no mercy to retirees show mercy to workers? I explained what could happen before Soma; those who didn't listen then listened later. Today, they still have issues with the miners. They had made promises to those left behind in Soma. They did not keep their promise of justice there; they released those who served only 5.5 days per person. They did not keep any of the promises they made to the remaining miners. The miners fought for 7 years to receive their severance pay.

They formed a union called the Independent Mine Workers' Union (Bağımsız Maden-İş) and did everything they could to make their voices heard; they marched to Ankara. Every time they came, Süleyman Soylu set the gendarmerie against them.

Those workers only received their rights after two of their friends lost their lives while seeking justice.

Now, the same union is standing with the workers of Doruk Mining in Eskişehir. The miners, whose rights were not honored when the company—which had been seized from FETÖ—was sold by the TMSF, and which the company itself failed to pay, have struggled their way to the front of the Ministry of Energy.

They detained 110 miners who were walking barefoot and defending the rights of their children.

As the CHP, we will amend all legal regulations that hinder unionization in favor of the workers.

ALİCAN ULUDAĞ

It is time to look at the corruption in the state and how some are proven right while others are proven wrong through a case study. October 29, 2025... An ordinary day in a country of senseless deaths. The 7-story Aslan Apartment building collapses in Gebze; a mother, father, and two children die, and the entire street is evacuated...

At that time, journalist Alican Uludağ reported on a professional chamber's report stating that 'this building will collapse' due to metro construction. Following this, the Minister of Transport first denied the news and then an investigation was opened against Uludağ for the crime of spreading misleading information to the public. Currently, Alican Uludağ is in prison due to his reports that disturbed the government.

Now I have the expert report regarding Gebze in my hand. 'It has been concluded that volume loss occurred due to the effect of changes in groundwater levels with the start of tunnel excavations, that the volume loss in the ground affected the building's stability towards the end of October 2025, and that the building collapsed downwards as a result of the building foundation losing contact with the ground...'

The person who reported this was investigated for spreading misleading information, while the minister who said the collapse had nothing to do with the metro construction—that is, the one who spread the misleading information—continues to sit in that office. This is the dark order of the AK Party, and this is what needs to be punished...

OPERATION AT ATAŞEHİR MUNICIPALITY

Everyone knows that Onursal has not taken what isn't his; he is a child of the CHP who believed in the party's power, did not become a parliamentary candidate but continued the struggle, became a mayoral candidate, and was elected with a record number of votes in Ataşehir, which the AK Party had tried to carve out from Kadıköy for itself...

He was questioned yesterday; there is no allegation, no evidence, not even a fake HTS record, and he is not associated with anything... There is no wiretapping or surveillance... They say, 'You are the head of a criminal organization.' Unable to find a single crime, they have turned municipal employees into a criminal organization, and through this, they are trying to take Onursal down and trip up the CHP's march to power...

We are at a point where either evil will win and nothing will be left behind, or those who resist will win...

We saw what those who said 'dawn raids will end' when they took office actually did. They didn't come to Onursal's house at dawn; they came at 1:00 AM.

Ever since we showed that the government would leave through elections, we have had no peace; we have been under attack ever since. Their real fear is not the fear of God, but the fear of the ballot box. They have been involved in every crime but have not feared God; now they fear the rule of law that will emerge after the ballot box.

For a year, they have been stealing the country's peace and prosperity. They took Mayor Ekrem and embarrassed themselves with an empty indictment. Now, while Mayor Ekrem dismantles a lie every day, Aziz İhsan Aktaş, who is being tried for 700 years, walks free, while those they slandered are in prison. They even recently lifted the injunction on Aziz İhsan Aktaş's assets.

In other words, they said, "You can spend this money however you wish." They said, "You can do anything."

RETRACTED CONFESSOR TESTIMONIES

But at the same time, just yesterday, 12 people who were involved in slander—those who say 'sign the paper, accuse someone, save yourself'—stated that they regretted their actions, withdrew their statements, and are no longer filing complaints.

I mean, they say, 'Take him and throw him in jail, he won't talk; take his son, put him in a 50-person cell as the 50th person, he will talk. This is cancer, take him away, make his mother cry...' Do these things to make Mehmet Murat Çalık's mother cry, and eventually, he will break.

'Take Pınar, throw her somewhere, let her child be left behind, let her 84-year-old mother be left behind, and she will break. Take the other one, exile him to Afyon, let 40 people stay in a 20-person cell, let them sleep on the floor, let him clean the toilets, and he will break.'

While no one—no honorable, decent person—breaks just because they committed this oppression, those who commit this evil are breaking; they are falling apart piece by piece. The truth is coming to light. The nation does not believe in slander, but in our friends who perform their honorable and dignified duties.

"NO ONE HAS ASKED THE GÖKÇEK FAMILY ANYTHING"

Those who were accused of all these crimes years ago but were never detained for a single day, never tried while in custody, and even when they received sentences, were invited by phone to go to prison and choose their own cellmates, are doing everything they can today to prevent the handover of power by setting this great trap for the next President, to not relinquish power, to determine their own opponent in the election, and to win another election through a thousand and one evils.

On one hand, they say, 'Sir, we have granted investigation permits for 620 AK Party municipalities.' There is no detention. There is no being called to give a statement; let alone being called by the police or having a home raid, there isn't even a knock on the door saying, 'The prosecutor is calling you.'

Those who sit on the files at hand and have protected Melih Gökçek for years, who forced those they called 'metal fatigue' to resign by saying, 'If he resigns, he does it on his own, otherwise we know what to do'—even though no one has the authority to remove a mayor—have not had a single prosecutor call or ask anything of the Gökçek family, who were forced to resign with implications of being 'FETÖ members' or 'thieves,' with some leaving their posts laughing and others crying.

But the nation sees that while no questions are asked of Melih Gökçek, who acted with such brazenness, they are constantly subjecting Mansur Yavaş, who has dedicated his life to Ankara, to trivial investigations, saying 'we have granted permission for an investigation,' creating last-minute anxiety and damage, and trying to stir up worry about whether something will happen to Mansur Yavaş.

"WE WILL NOT LET ANY CHP MAYOR BE BULLIED!"

Now they have stood up to cover their own failures by attacking our mayors, who won a great victory in the local elections, have established themselves in the hearts of the nation, are working efficiently, producing services, and creating solutions rather than excuses. They are trying to set traps, launch investigations, and send inspectors to our Ankara Metropolitan Mayor, Mr. Mansur Yavaş, and our Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu. They are making plans, wondering if they can find a flaw, cast a stain, or appoint a trustee.

Even the deaf sultan knows how Ankara was sold off parcel by parcel during the Melih Gökçek era and how it was handed over to FETÖ. Those who swept those files under the rug and covered up those corruptions are now trying to criticize our mayors, who have become symbols of honesty and transparency and who account for every penny. Get out of here! Get out of here!

Ekrem İmamoğlu is being targeted because he saved Istanbul from those rent-seeking gangs and ended the order of waste. Mansur Yavaş is being targeted because he manages Ankara honestly and transparently, and spends the people's money on the people. Your mud-slinging politics and your smear campaigns will not stick to our mayors! No matter what you do, no matter what traps you set, we will not let you bully any mayor of the Republican People's Party! We will not let you! We will not let you!

"IF YOU TRUST YOURSELVES, BRING THE BALLOT BOX!"

We are here! The Republican People's Party is here! The party of the nation is here! We call out to those who run from the ballot box, those who run from justice, and those who run from the people:

Challenge accepted!

If you trust yourselves, bring the ballot box!

Let those who are not afraid of the nation's judgment face us!

Let those who are not afraid of the people's will face us!

We are ready! Our nation is ready!

We are ready to pull Turkey out of this darkness!

We are ready to crown our Republic in its second century with democracy, justice, prosperity, and peace!

News Source: 12punto