Özgür Özel’s challenge to Kılıçdaroğlu: 'We have lost so many times, we stood by him, but we cannot lose anymore'

The Republican People's Party (CHP) is preparing to hold its 38th Ordinary Congress on November 4-5. While preparations for the congress are in full swing, CHP Group Chairman and General Chair candidate Özgür Özel made significant statements.

Speaking to İpek Özbey from Sözcü, Özel evaluated Kılıçdaroğlu's remarks that he would "hand over the party to a knowledgeable, good social democrat," and asked, "Where is our prince, in which cage is he being kept?"

Stating that for him, the threshold is AKP General Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sitting in the presidential office on the 100th anniversary, Özel said, "We have lost so many times, we stood by him again, but we cannot lose forever, we cannot stand by him forever. For me, the threshold is the failure to prevent Tayyip Erdoğan from sitting in the Presidential office on the 100th anniversary of the Republic."

Highlights from the interview are as follows;

My regret is this: There was a rumor that "Kemal Bey offered groups to small parties in exchange for support for his presidency." We asked about this, and the general chair denied it. But when you look at the picture, an image that confirms these allegations emerges.

Isn't it difficult to object to the 39 deputies internally while defending them externally? Why did you do this?

If the well-known names of the party were to come out and fight in public 60 days before the elections, it would cause the election to be lost. It is a requirement of party ethics not to discuss the party in public at critical junctures.

You explained that you have objections on many issues. So, do you have to stand in a place where you do not share the same ideas?

I do not, but firstly, you do not know who will fill the place you are vacating. I was among the names who ran the most, worked the hardest, made the most visits, and had the most resonance in the field during the referendum and local elections. You defend the truth internally, but you still strive with all your might, believing that you will win the election. You say, "If we weren't here, who would the party be left to?" Now the general chair says, "If I had won, they would have been by my side, now they are against me"... We have lost so many times, we stood by him again, but we cannot lose forever, we cannot stand by him forever. For me, the threshold is the failure to prevent Tayyip Erdoğan from sitting in the Presidential office on the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

WHERE IS OUR PRINCE, IN WHICH CAGE?

Kılıçdaroğlu had a description... He said, "I will hand over the party to a knowledgeable, experienced, good social democrat." I asked if there is such a person among the current individuals. He replied, "There is, but they need to become visible"... How did you read this?

The issue of handing over happens in a monarchy, not in a democracy. We rejected this with the abolition of the sultanate on November 1, 1922. We take pride in it every year. Tomorrow is November 1, the anniversary of the abolition of the sultanate. If we haven't brought democracy to our party, how will we boast about the democracy we will bring to the country? When you look at it as a candidate against him, he makes such a definition that I am not offended at all. You wouldn't object to a definition that says someone must speak five foreign languages, have graduated from 3 universities, and have such experience in their past. But the definition is knowledgeable, experienced, good social democrat... Örsan Öymen and I are candidates. When he makes this definition, he is telling his legitimate rivals, "You are not a good social democrat." In this respect, it is not gentlemanly. Leave Örsan Bey and me aside, there are hundreds of thousands in this party who fit this definition.

He is talking about someone who is not visible, someone we do not know. Where is this person? In what roles have they been tested? How do we know what they will do when they take over the party tomorrow? Look, this reminded me of something: I will talk about a situation that disappeared with the abolition of the sultanate. Since Fatih Sultan Mehmet deemed fratricide appropriate, there has been a cage practice in the Ottoman Empire. In the palace, next to the harem, the princes likely to ascend to the throne are kept in a cage. Sometimes, when the sultan lives for a very long time, the waiting prince ages and dies. There are those who go mad in the cage. Only the sultan knows about it. When I saw this practice, I said, "Where is our prince now, in which cage?"...

News Source: 12punto