A challenger emerges against Ali Babacan in DEVA Party ahead of congress: 'I became a candidate to get the party back on its feet'

Lawyer Salih Efe has announced his candidacy for the DEVA Party chairmanship, pointing out that trust in DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan has eroded over time, leading to resignations within the party organizations.

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A challenger emerges against Ali Babacan in DEVA Party ahead of congress: 'I became a candidate to get the party back on its feet'

The DEVA Party, led by Chairman Ali Babacan, will hold its 2nd Grand Congress on October 12. It has been learned that Babacan will be a candidate again.

With only days left until the congress, a challenger to Babacan has emerged.

DEVA Party Chairmanship Candidate Lawyer Salih Efe made striking statements regarding the crisis of confidence and leadership problems within his party. Efe stated that his trust in Ali Babacan, in particular, had eroded over time and that this situation had led to major resignations within the party organizations.

"I WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO PUT A STOP TO THE WRONGDOINGS"

Lawyer Salih Efe emphasized that the silence regarding the crises within the party pushed him into the race for the chairmanship. "I was waiting for another chairmanship candidate to emerge. I waited for them to put a stop to the wrongdoings. However, everyone was just watching. If someone more experienced had stepped forward, perhaps I would not have been a candidate, but no one took a step," said Efe, noting that he would stand against these wrongdoings with his experience in international law. Expressing his opposition to a culture of blind obedience, Efe stated, "I only owe allegiance to God. Wrong is wrong, and it is necessary to put a stop to it."

"MANY FOUNDING MEMBERS, PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT CHAIRS HAVE RESIGNED"

Lawyer Salih Efe pointed out that pluralism and democratic values are not sufficiently implemented within the party. Expressing that pluralism is a very important concept, Efe stated that different voices should be supported. "As the DEVA Party, we defend democracy, equality, and justice. Even though these are written in our program, there is no room for them within the party," he said. Arguing that ideas should be expressed freely within the party, Efe said that different voices are not tolerated in the DEVA Party. "This is a major mistake," said Efe, pointing out that many founding members, as well as provincial and district chairs, have resigned from the party in recent years.

"I BECAME A CANDIDATE TO GET THE PARTY BACK ON ITS FEET"

Efe stated that the high potential the DEVA Party had at its founding has rapidly melted away. "Our party was founded four years ago with 12 percent support, and we saw 9-10 percent support in polls. However, today we have fallen to 0.35 percent. In the entire Republic of Turkey, we only have one district and one town left," said Efe, evaluating this situation as a leadership and management weakness within the DEVA Party. Salih Efe stated that he is a candidate for the chairmanship to change the leadership approach in the DEVA Party and to get the party back on its feet. Efe expressed, "I am here to win back the trust of our people and to carry our party to a strong position once again. I am a candidate to strengthen the party's pluralistic and democratic structure, to allow for different voices, and to correct the wrongdoings."

WHO IS SALIH EFE?

Born in Diyarbakır in 1972, Lawyer Salih Efe completed his primary, secondary, and high school education in Diyarbakır before completing his law degree at Marmara University between 1989 and 1993. After completing his English language studies in England in 1994, he graduated with honors from the Department of Political Science at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, between 1995 and 1998. He completed his master's degree in European Union studies at Atılım University between 2005 and 2007. Between 2009 and 2011, he had to leave his doctoral program in international relations and security at the Police Academy's Institute of Security Sciences, which is still at the thesis stage, due to health reasons. Between 2001 and 2002, he worked as an expert lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Turkey desk. Between 2003 and 2004, he served as an expert lawyer in the field of asylum law at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ankara Office. Later, he worked on various harmonization projects between the European Union and the state. He served as Deputy Secretary General of the DEVA Party and took part in various commissions. He currently conducts work in the fields of international law, the ECHR, the Constitutional Court, human rights, refugee law, and Interpol law.

News Source: 12punto