Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş has announced that he has resigned from his membership in the Republican People's Party (CHP) and will continue his political path as an independent.
Following Yavaş's resignation decision, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was brought to the CHP Chairmanship with a decision of absolute nullity, made his first statement.
KILIÇDAROĞLU: HIS OWN POLITICAL CHOICE
In his assessment regarding Mansur Yavaş's resignation from the CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said, "Resignation is a unilateral act. It is his own political choice."
STATEMENT FROM THE NEW PARTY REGARDING YAVAŞ'S DECISION
A comment on Yavaş's resignation also came from the NEW Party front. NEW Party Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir also made an assessment regarding Yavaş's departure from the CHP.
In a brief statement made upon a question from journalists in Parliament, Emir expressed the following:
"Mr. Mansur Yavaş is our mayor who stands out with his services, honesty, and populist municipalism, and who I believe is a source of pride not only for us but for 86 million people. It is his own discretion. If he feels the need to make a further statement, he will do so himself."
YAVAŞ EXPLAINED THE REASONS FOR HIS DECISION
In a statement on his social media account, Mansur Yavaş stated that some decisions in politics are not taken out of anger or resentment, but are thought about for a long time and the responsibility is assumed.
Expressing that the decision he made today is within this scope, Yavaş said that the process, which began on March 19 and continued with various legal and political debates, primarily the discussions on absolute nullity, has brought politics in Turkey to a point that everyone follows with sadness.
Stating that he has never engaged in any behavior that would humiliate the CHP or cause those who voted for the party to feel embarrassed, Yavaş expressed that they have worked to ensure that municipal services in Ankara are carried out without discrimination, in a transparent and accountable manner, and that the public's money is used for the public again.
Stating that he has never seen himself above political parties and that he considers such a claim to be insolence, Yavaş noted that if there is to be a change of government in Turkey through democratic means, it will be possible not by the opposition consuming each other, but by coming together around common principles.
"IT MAY LEAD TO A DEEP DIVISION IN THE CHP"
Stating that he has expressed many times before that the debates that have been going on for months, especially the process carried out over absolute nullity, could lead to a deep division in the CHP, Yavaş said that this could harm not only the CHP but also the hope for democratic politics in Turkey.
Yavaş expressed the following in the continuation of his statement:
"I had previously said that if there was any discomfort within the party regarding myself or the stance I took, I would do what is necessary. And due to some statements made today, I am resigning from my Republican People's Party membership and submitting to the public's appreciation that I am continuing my political path as an independent. I will owe a debt of gratitude for the rest of my life to everyone with whom I entered elections under the CHP umbrella for three terms, with whom I struggled, who stood by me during election campaigns, who believed in me, and who put their labor and heart into it.
On another matter, my stance is extremely clear. Our citizens' trust in politics and politicians has been deeply wounded. We must seek the responsibility for this not in the voter, but in ourselves. When people go to the ballot box, they do not only vote for a name, but also for a political will. For this reason, I did not find it right to ignore the will of the voter and to move the offices obtained with their votes to political addresses that the voter did not approve of, and I do not find it right today either."
News Source: 12punto
