Özgür Özel reveals the secret to local election success: 'We unlocked 3 locks'

Özel participated in the program "Hepsi Bu Hafta Oldu" (It All Happened This Week), hosted by Armağan Çağlayan and broadcast on Ekol TV.

Here are the highlights from CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's speech:

"THREATS AND TENSION EVERY DAY"

I did not set strategic goals. Whatever job I do, I try to do it well. In fact, my other tasks might fall behind. After reaching a certain point in the party, the party needs to come to power. You become locked onto that. I wish our party had come to power in the 100th year of the republic. People should be able to breathe a sigh of relief. If I had been afraid of polarization, I shouldn't have stepped out as the CHP leader. Threats and tension every day...

"IT WAS A TRAUMA FOR MY FAMILY AND ME"

Nowhere in the world has a party leader changed through an election. We worked with all our might for the Presidential election, but it didn't happen. It was a trauma for my friends, my family, and me. The spark in the eyes of the youth on the streets faded, their excitement vanished. There is also a segment that says, "If I don't see the CHP in power, I will die with regrets." There are people who have been suffering for 50 years.

"PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO HOLD ACCOUNTABLE"

There was an incredible emotional trauma. It was necessary to take action. I acted with this feeling. The first person to express this was Ekrem İmamoğlu. We talked about the need for change in the party. We needed to tell people, "We learned our lesson, we changed, we rejuvenated, and please do not lose hope." Populist leaders around the world benefit from people becoming disillusioned with the ballot box. That was happening here too. People were looking for someone to hold accountable.

We were the only party that correctly read the sentiment on the ground. We were the only party with young candidates, candidates who did not hold the voter accountable but took responsibility, and a high number of female candidates. The voters punished everyone who did not change, including the AK Party, MHP, and IYI Party.

When asked what politics is, I define it as the art of hearing the voice of the street. If you are not capturing the sentiment from the street or the home, you are just playing at standard politics. We were a huge team of change-makers. Everyone took risks. They made the impossible happen.

"MY WIFE WAS STARTLED WHEN SHE SAW ME"

(Regarding his candidacy for Chairman) I was in Manisa. I thought about it for about 3 hours by the reading light. It took me 3 hours to jump from the high dive into the pool. My wife was startled when she saw me. I made my decision. I gave an interview to İsmail Saymaz. I informed the friends who needed to know. While informing my politician friends, one of them said, "You are diving headfirst into an empty pool." I replied, "I calculated it; it will be full by the time I jump." My wife was happy after March 31. Just imagine, for 11 years, the woodcutter goes for wood and returns empty-handed.

"WE MAKE DECISIONS WITH THE MYK"

(Meeting with the President) There are two groups there. They look at Turkey's past practices. There is a group that says, "Whenever the Justice and Development Party gets into trouble, it gets back on its feet with someone's help, and we should not be the ones helping."

I find this justified and I respect it. We make decisions with the MYK (Central Executive Board). We are not a party that can be easily deceived or that makes decisions hastily. The concerns are justified, and one must be careful.

Then there are those who feed on this environment of polarization. There are those who think they have no place in the normal political plane. I have nothing to say to those who ask, "Can you shake hands with those who have done this to us for so many years?" But those who are well-off and feed on polarization need to be cleared out.

"WE WILL MEET AFTER THE HOLIDAY"

There are retirees living on 10,000 TL, minimum wage earners, tea and wheat producers, and countless people who cannot pay their debts. I explained this to Mr. Erdoğan. 68 percent of taxes are indirect taxes.

The factory owner and their worker pay the same tax. 21 percent is income tax, meaning from those who receive a salary. Only the remaining 11 percent is tax paid by industrialists and ship owners. It should be the exact opposite. Erdoğan asked us to meet with Şimşek for tax reform.

Şimşek is not rational right now. He is rational for the rich, and as irrational as possible for the poor. We will meet with Şimşek after the holiday. There is no possibility of us supporting IMF policies. We want to bring the informal economy into the economy and ensure that more tax is collected from the rich.

"WE BECAME PARTNERS IN POWER"

I will not get involved in something that will take on the 22-year burden of the AK Party. Mr. Devlet (Bahçeli) cannot step aside. They will all go to the opposition together. We became partners in power in the March 31 elections. The constitution divides power into central administration and local administrations.

A total of 87 percent of local administrations are under CHP management. The People's Alliance is responsible for everything that has happened until today. We did not form an alliance with parties.

We formed an alliance with the nation. If Mr. Devlet is going to leave the People's Alliance, he can join the Turkey Alliance; there is no problem. If Mr. Devlet wants to rejoice when the national team scores a goal, he should come.

"THERE ARE NO RELATIVE APPOINTMENTS IN OUR MUNICIPALITIES"

When such a situation occurred in Balıkesir, I called and told the mayor's brother to be a volunteer. The situation in Kırşehir was a surname coincidence. I also called regarding the issue in Esenyurt, and we resolved it in 2 hours. The CHP shows dirt. The AK Party has been covering up dirt for years. They have hundreds of appointments in every municipality. The appointments of the CHP that are justifiably criticized are immediately noticed. I am against all of them and I ended them immediately.

STATEMENTS REGARDING 'GEZI'

The Gezi issue is divided into 3 areas. If you comply with the ECHR, you must release Kavala; if you comply with the Constitutional Court (AYM) decisions, you must release Can Atalay. The MHP says, "Close the AYM," and Erdoğan says, "Gezi is my personal matter." We, on the other hand, are only saying that the decisions of the ECHR and the AYM must be complied with. We did not make a request like "Pardon them."

I SOUGHT ADVICE FROM AHMET NECDET SEZER

(Erdoğan-Özel meeting) Some meetings are held one-on-one. There have been speculations about this in the history of the Republic of Turkey. I hesitated on behalf of my party and my family, and I was looking for a method to ensure this wouldn't happen. I didn't want a burden to be placed on anyone's back. I went to Ahmet Necdet Sezer and asked him about this.

He told me to assign an ambassador for the meeting protocol. "They will plan the flow," he said, and we complied with this. I went with Namık Tan, a retired ambassador whose impartiality is beyond doubt, and our private secretary.

Mr. Namık transcribed the notes regarding this meeting. I archived them in the party and also gave them to our Secretary General, Ms. Selin, and we archived them. We all read the notes. They are currently in the party's official archive and in the safe at the chairman's secretariat.

DID HE WEAR HIS 18-YEAR-OLD TIE TO THE MEETING?

No, that is a troll fabrication. Deniz Bey was already at the meeting 18 years ago; I wasn't even there. I was the President of the Pharmacists' Chamber in Manisa. The meeting was open-ended. But it lasted around 1 and a half hours. It needs to be of a reasonable length.

"I WOULD MEET AGAIN"

No matter which side I am on, I would feel ashamed if we passed each other at Anıtkabir without greeting. At the very least, we should shake hands at the ceremonies at Anıtkabir on April 23. Sportsmanship requires this. It fell to me to do this, and I did.

We received reciprocity on some issues. If I need to meet again, I will meet again.

HE SPOKE ABOUT CONSTITUTIONAL EFFORTS

Absolutely no information is being given regarding the content. They said let's work on the procedure. I said, "17 million 499 thousand people voted for my party. It is not easy for us to sit down." There is a constitution that must be followed. If this is not followed, the state will cease to exist. There are many articles in the constitution that I am uncomfortable with. But how will this happen with a party that wants the unity of powers, not the separation of powers?

HOW DID THE LOCAL ELECTION SUCCESS COME ABOUT?

We unlocked 3 locks. First of all, we nominated young and female candidates. We passed 29 out of our 31 candidates. The youth unlocked the first lock. Women unlocked the second lock. Our female candidates won in many places. The third lock was science. We based our approach on the importance Atatürk placed on science. The CHP's campaign to achieve success was a long process. We conducted 350 thousand surveys and followed the candidates with 255 thousand surveys. We conducted profile measurement studies. We made accurate analyses.

THE 'BIDON KAFA' (JUG-HEAD) OUTBURST

Özel stated that one of those making criticisms had called the voters "jug-heads" in past years, and said, "It is a good thing there is such a gap between me and him. He is of the mentality that calls the voter who doesn't vote for him a 'jug-head' instead of asking where we went wrong when he doesn't get votes. In fact, the reason this party has become the first party for the first time in 47 years is the break we made from this mentality."

Noting that he rejects the approach of challenging the voter, Özel said, "The guy is swearing at the voter or something. He tells it as if it's something he's never heard before, then the slander he throws goes viral, it circulates everywhere, and then even his closest ones believe it, etc. They cannot live, they cannot feed, they cannot make a living if there is no polarization. Let the two sides be in constant conflict with each other, and we will sell bullets to this side, etc. Those who feed on the war economy. They are worried for nothing. The process we have entered into will neither solve all problems, nor end all debates, nor will we go and form a coalition with the AK Party."

"THE IYI PARTY VOTERS ALSO VOTED FOR US"

Until March 31, no party other than the CHP changed. We followed our tracks very well. Everyone except us suffered a defeat. The citizens read the decision to enter the election alone as "They made this decision because they are angry at the CHP." Therefore, IYI Party voters also voted for us. The IYI Party ran a harsh campaign against the CHP. Our people do not accept someone who swears at them today after praising them yesterday. I want Mr. Müsavat to be successful. I act with the understanding that an old friend does not become an enemy.

HOW DOES HE VIEW THE ERDOĞAN-AKŞENER MEETING?

This meeting is certainly not institutional; otherwise, the chairman or the person they assigned would represent it. The issue we call normalization also covers this. A former chairman of a political party can meet with the President. It would be appropriate for the chairman to be informed about these steps to be taken.

Before my meeting with Erdoğan, I called and informed the previous chairmen one by one. Later, I gave a brief briefing regarding the meeting.

If it is done this way, there is no problem. There is also a former chairman in the IYI Party for the first time. Dialogue channels must be open. The meeting is quite normal.

KEMAL KILIÇDAROĞLU'S TWEETS

Kemal Bey posted important tweets that protect the institutional identity of the CHP. He currently has the comfort of being a former chairman. As he himself stated, he thinks more comfortably and offers a perspective. This is a wealth for us, a priceless blessing.

HOW DOES POLITICS AFFECT FAMILY LIFE?

When I left home and went to Ankara for the first time, my daughter İpek was 6 years old. She hadn't mentioned that I was a member of parliament at a meeting when she was 13. Now she is more used to it. But my family does not stand in the protocol at rallies. Now she is more warmed up to it. She became a member of the party at the age of 18. She is not overly curious about politics. I have never broken away from my hometown, Manisa. We did not move my wife's pharmacy to Ankara either. I don't want to break away from there.

IF THE CHP CANNOT COME TO POWER, I WILL RESIGN AS CHAIRMAN

I am saying this here for the first time: if the CHP does not become the first party, that is, if we cannot come to power, I will resign as chairman.

News Source: 12punto