Tunç Soyer evaluates İzmir poll results: 'I am worried'

Making striking statements regarding the local election process, Soyer drew attention with his response to the question, "Is the gap between the AK Party and the CHP in İzmir closing?"

Starting his remarks with the question, "Why were you not nominated?", Soyer said:

Actually, you should ask them that; there is no reason given to me. Only a sentence was uttered about me polling low, but of course, we conducted many polls over the last 5 years. We conducted many polls in the last 6 months, and I did not poll low in any of them. Therefore, I do not know which poll showed me as low and how. But it is also interesting that no other criteria were applied.

Evaluating a mayor solely based on satisfaction rates in polls is a very populist approach. Because when you take over the municipality, it has a budget and debt. How did you manage these, did you allocate a budget for investment, did you reduce or increase the debt?

Or how did you establish relationships with non-governmental organizations; many things need to be questioned. The poll result alone should not be enough. Sometimes, even if there is dissatisfaction in polls, you have done what you know to be right, and there should be a response to that. Therefore, I do not have the answer to the question; I do not know why I was not nominated.

Stating that he felt hurt regarding two issues in the candidate selection process, Soyer said:

I am hurt by two things. One, when the mayoral candidacy was to be discussed in the Central Executive Board (MYK), I was informed 5 minutes before that 'Your name will not be on the MYK agenda.' The second is that after such a long process, there was not even a thank you. I am very hurt by these.

Because for 5 years, we really did a lot, we struggled with many obstacles. Investigations, the pandemic, the earthquake... Despite these, we worked without lowering my party's flag and without compromising the principles of social municipalism. Good people should enter politics; as long as good people stay away from politics, they reach a point where they expect the things they complain about to be changed by those very people.

Good people should be interested in politics, but after my situation, I am a bit hesitant to say this; I am afraid, he expressed.

"I thought about what I did to deserve this and felt relieved"

Soyer gave the following response to the question, "Many mayors were not changed, even Lütfü Savaş was highly debated but not changed. Were you the least successful among them?":

If we look at the result, one needs to understand this. For a long time, I pondered, 'What did I do to deserve this, where did I go wrong?' Because uncertainty tires a person out a lot. Then I concluded that this had nothing to do with my work and felt relieved.

"My stance at the party congress was decisive"

Soyer said that his preference at the party congress might have been an important reason for not being nominated and added:

It could be an important determinant in the shaping of this preference, but I think there is a deficiency and a mistake here. Loyalty is a virtue, merit is a virtue. If you have displayed a stance with merit and loyalty at party congresses, it is not understandable for this to be punished.

It is possible that you support someone else, but this should not be something that requires such a decision to be made. We are not enemies; we just made a choice at the congress.

We think that we made a choice there with loyalty and merit and that this is not something that should be punished. I guess what was decisive was the stance at the congress. Because no other justification was put forward.

Stating that "27 out of 30 districts have changed," Soyer said:

A significant portion of the districts also stood like this. Because it is a very rational thing; they made you mayor, when you were the general chairman, you made a choice in favor of them, and loyalty and merit already require standing by the general chairman there.

On the issue of change, I had written an İzmir stance and a political manifesto on June 12. I had expressed that a change in the CHP must absolutely happen and that this meant a stance closer to the left, based on social democratic values.

I only said that this change should happen after April 1. Because we expressed that we believed internal party turmoil would cause harm, and indeed it did, he said.

"Change cannot be limited to age and gender"

Expressing that change should not only be about gender and age, Soyer said:

If the necessary preparations had been made until April 1, whatever the charter changes, regulations were... If we had gone to the elections after that and the change process had started after the election, I don't think there would have been such a great turmoil.

Change was something I also defended and tried to fill the content of. At the point we have reached today, it was a congress that reconciled the party with the disgruntled voter, but after that, people wanted to see that change. If you look at the change seen from the perspective of determining candidates, it is about age and gender.

In other words, we heard from the General Chairman's mouth that they nominated 9 women in İzmir and 12 of them were under 40. But change is not something that will be limited only to age and gender. Change must have an ideological content. I think there is a deficiency here as well, he stated.

Soyer said the following regarding CHP General Chairman Özgür Özel's performance:

A political party like the CHP must be very embracing. You cannot grow otherwise. The main opposition party must put forward equipped, inclusive, and healthy policies. Unfortunately, an understanding that alienates due to the congress or narrows down for other reasons, that is not embracing or inclusive, cannot play a role in curbing the absolute power of that government. I am worried that we are gradually coming to such a point today.

To the question "What will happen after April 1?", Soyer said:

There is a clear attitude put forward by the General Chairman. He says I am responsible. Whatever the result that emerges... If serious losses are experienced, then I suppose he will have things to say and do about it. If he is taking this responsibility upon himself, it means you are willing to fulfill its responsibilities, he said.

"The gap is closing in İzmir, I am worried"

Soyer used the following expressions regarding the situation in İzmir:

I am following the polls. I see that the gap is closing. I am receiving reports that there are problems in many districts. Therefore, I am a bit worried. I don't know how it will shape up at the last minute while going to the ballot box, how the voter who voted for the CHP will express their will. The language used by the ruling party is very important. The President had used polarizing language in the general elections.

This language made it easier for political parties to consolidate their bases. But now I notice that the ruling party does not have such a discourse or language. If it continues like this, the possibility of political parties consolidating their own bases decreases. Because this conflict is two-sided. No matter how much a political party tries to adopt a language to consolidate its own mass, if the other side does not come to this point, it turns into a futile attempt.

This will be what determines the result. If the government changes this language as the election approaches and starts using a more divisive language, then the CHP voter will consolidate. Of course, this cannot be the only factor. There are certainly those who say I will vote for the AKP because I am angry at Tunç Soyer, but it is a low percentage.

"If I were the candidate, the vote rate would have increased"

To the question, "Would you have received the same vote rate if you were running for election again?", Tunç Soyer said, "I see the possibility of increasing it. We did a lot of work. We remained loyal to our commitment. We did the work despite the pandemic, the earthquake, and the economic crisis.", he said.

"The congress preference became a criterion"

To the question, "How do you see the preference of Karşıyaka Mayor Cemil Tugay being nominated in your place? Özgür Özel called him to the stage at the meeting where his candidacy was announced, thanking him for the support he gave him at the congress. Do you think this was a criterion?", Soyer replied, "I don't think it should have been. It seems like it was. I don't know what criteria the Chairman used to evaluate them.", he answered.

"If it were me, I would have chosen myself"

Soyer responded to the question, "How do you evaluate Tugay's Karşıyaka Mayoralty?" with the words, "All polls and evaluations, the ballot box will be set up in 20 days. The result that comes out of there will give the real data.".

Soyer stated that among the candidate nominees, he would have chosen himself.

Soyer said, "I had said that if Aziz Kocaoğlu were a candidate nominee, I would not be a candidate nominee. In other words, it did not seem very ethical to me to appear against someone who is continuing as Metropolitan Mayor and say I am a candidate too. If there is no gross error, if there is no major problem in realizing projects, if there is no suspicion about him, then why was there a need to change?", he said.

"My being by Cemil Bey's side will harm him"

Soyer said:

The fracture in İzmir CHP is large. But there is a major fracture in İzmir after the congress. It was stated that I was not nominated because I polled unsuccessfully. Therefore, my standing by a candidate who is considered 'spotless' would harm him. After all, if I am unsuccessful, my presence would harm a candidate who has set out for success.

This is one side of the matter. As a CHP mayor, we wanted to invite the mayoral candidate and line up all his deputy secretaries-general and general managers to give him a briefing. His schedule did not fit twice. We are waiting for a new date from him.

We want every deputy secretary-general to explain what they have done and their plans regarding their own field. Let his hands be full and let him know. But we couldn't coincide. I think this would be the most meaningful support I could give.

"Ekrem Bey has had no intervention regarding İzmir"

To the question, "You are not seen in Cemil Tugay's campaign, but you are seen in Ekrem İmamoğlu's campaign. Doesn't İmamoğlu have a share in you not being nominated?", Soyer replied,

I don't think he had any influence. His own expression to me is also like this. I believe this too. He did not make any intervention regarding İzmir. I participated in his campaign at Ekrem Bey's invitation. Since I was not nominated in İzmir, there is no point in being visible during the campaign.

I see that İmamoğlu and Özgür Özel have divided it between themselves. It seems to me that he wanted to have more say over Istanbul in the candidate determination process. He did not want to be involved in the Aegean. Or Özgür Bey wanted to be more involved. These are assumptions. Ekrem Bey has had no intervention regarding İzmir., he replied.

"I did not poll low in any poll"

Stating that he did not find the consultancy offer made to him by Özel correct, Soyer concluded his words as follows:

This administration put forward a political will and I am not in it. Even if I wanted to, such a partnership is out of the question. There is a will from the beginning that keeps me out. Now, how am I going to be a fellow traveler with that will? They didn't want it... Özgür Bey said to me, 'I am not going to ask you to support Cemil Bey, but this would suit you.' I said, 'Protecting a CHP mayor also suits the general chairman.' When there is such a picture, it does not seem possible to be fellow travelers together. I did not poll low in any poll.

News Source: 12punto