Özgür Özel's first election claim revealed: 'We will exceed 35 percent'

CHP's new Chairman Özgür Özel made evaluations regarding the party congress, the elections, and the roadmap the party will follow.

Answering questions from BirGün, Özel emphasized that he could meet with HEDEP anywhere, including the CHP Headquarters, and that instead of an alliance relationship where many parties come together in local elections, collaborations based on regions are important.

Özel's evaluations are as follows:

"THE CONGRESS IGNITED SOCIAL OPPOSITION"

''I was expecting exactly the kind of congress we just left behind. It concluded better than I expected. The congress was like a real congress. Two different ideas competed. Sometimes there were harsh statements. Both sides fought each other all day with strong arguments. We were proposing a cadre movement for change, the other side did not accept it. In the end, the delegates listened to both sides and made their decision. It was a democratic race. This was also good for Turkey's perception in the world. I was expecting stress at the congress. But there was no tension or fighting, this is a subject we are very happy about. There was a group brought from outside that had no connection to the party. Their slogans were also football chants. They were not a political group. Still, the problems did not grow. The congress, in terms of the way it ended, turned into great excitement and hope. We also see its effect on the field. It has been two weeks, the excitement continues. We are even applauded on the plane. This is not applause for me personally, but applause in support of the opposition standing up again. The congress also ignited social opposition. This is spreading to the whole society in waves. It will also have a positive contribution to the ballot box.''

COOPERATION INSTEAD OF ALLIANCE

"İYİ Party, HEDEP voters, and even some AKP and MHP voters find the change in the CHP positive. We saw this in various polls. Our organizations also overcame the process much better this way. Our members and voters influenced the congress delegates very seriously. If there wasn't such an atmosphere outside, there wouldn't be such a result at the congress. I saw that the delegates listened to the tradesmen, their neighbors, and the youth. I was very sure that we would win. The vote we received in the second round was the true opinion of the delegates.''

''The word alliance has become a bit worn out. You have difficulty explaining your intention to people. From that point of view, it would be more accurate to say 'cooperation' for what comes next. Local elections are suitable for cooperation. If it is to be called an alliance, I am not against that either, but I do not find it right, necessary, or appropriate for a large number of parties to form an alliance from now on. Parties can have collaborations specific to electoral districts. Steps taken to lose would be unfair to our voters. Determining the candidate correctly is very important. Let everyone be sure that we will not show the arrogance of being a big party. For Turkey, we are forced to have a formula that makes the opposition win. I want to show a will that reads local requirements well. There is no contact with other parties yet, but there definitely will be. We will not be arrogant. If I need to take the first step as the last elected chairman, I will take the first step. If a step is taken, I will not turn it back. I say this for all parties.''

''I wish I had time to make all the structural changes I thought of in the party. Let's think that we will get a report card in June. The teacher changed in May. That's why I would have preferred it to be a few years later instead of being a bit early for my own sake. Because I believe that the CHP should be the best-managed institution in the country. We will go to the local elections without being able to do any of them. Still, I became a candidate because I saw that if we didn't hold a congress or if it was uncontested, the voters would punish us. If I knew we would pass the local election well, I wouldn't have been a candidate. I knew this excitement would take the voters to the ballot box again. When I first announced my candidacy decision, I was told, 'You dove headfirst into an empty pool.' You succeed if you show this courage anyway.''

TARGET 35 PERCENT

''All voters who do not want to endure the AKP government for another four years need to come to the ballot box and support the opposition. We will be an opposition that is pulling itself together. A success to be achieved in the local elections will cause the psychological superiority to pass to the opposition. The government cannot stop without holding elections for four years. But even if that 4-year period passes without elections, there is no obstacle in front of us growing the party. I think the biggest obstacle in front of democracy is being exposed to a constant storm of elections. Then, instead of taking brave steps, parties reach the point of 'There is an election, let this wait for now, let that wait.' I think that at the end of the next 4-year period, the CHP will increase its votes to over 35 percent.''

NEW CADRES

''Regarding the new cadres in our party, a politician said this to me years ago: 'Politics is the business of accumulating people.' You have to be constantly accumulating people somewhere in your mind. I was already keeping each of my professors in the back of my mind, benefiting from their competence in their own fields with appreciation, from reading their articles in your newspaper to listening to them on TV programs. I have always thought that the CHP should develop a language that can look at policies from a leftist perspective. Wherever I saw a deficiency in the party, I tried to fill it by inviting our professors. When we first sat down, I explained what we were talking about. 'Some things are missing in the party, you can fill these places,' I said. They were also excited about this offer. None of the professors I offered refused.''

SHADOW CABINET SYSTEM

''Our party does not have a single spokesperson this term. In fact, all of our ministers in the shadow cabinet are spokespersons in their own fields. We are trying something new within the party. We will have time for measurement and evaluation. We will do the local election leg within the party management with administrative cadres. This side of the business can create very important figures politically. For example, certain names stand out in the cabinet, and their other friends should take what they do as an example. The general public catches something, some are left behind. It is also necessary to change the minister there. If six months later, it is said, 'The shadow cabinet system did not work. The Turkish nation did not show favor,' if we are convinced of this, we will make a revision. I think it is necessary to try and insist.''

LOCAL ELECTIONS, HEDEP AND ZAFER PARTY

"I see that even if certain alliance doors cannot be opened with the momentum the CHP has caught today, it can still be successful. We met separately with the HEDEP Co-Chairmen when they called. I told them too. 'We want to come for a visit,' they said, I said I would wait. 'To the Parliament?' they asked, I said, 'It doesn't matter at all.' I told them they could also come to the Headquarters. I left the choice to them. If we are going to cooperate with them, the public has the right to know. If there is going to be a meeting, I see the request for it to be done openly as an extremely justified demand. I do not intend to say, 'You support us and let's not say this in public.' In fact, I think this would be healthy from this perspective as well: let all voters, voters who have certain sensitivities and certain expectations, know that in this electoral district, we are in such a cooperation with this political party. For example, I heard with my own ears that the secret protocol made with the Zafer Party seriously disturbed some Kurdish voters and that this imposed a cost on us. In Diyarbakır, a lot of Kurdish voters told me to my face, 'If there is no change, we will not vote, we are very angry about the secret protocol.'"

TRUSTEE PRACTICE

''We are fundamentally against the trustee business. Here they say, 'The state is meeting with HEDEP and there are some claims such as not appointing a trustee in return for them not fielding a candidate.' I find this very dangerous. The AK Party is a party that has no political ethics, is the least trustworthy, and says this today and does the exact opposite tomorrow. In other words, to make the CHP lose, they say 'Field a candidate everywhere' and promise not to appoint a trustee, and then appoint a trustee the day after the election. One should not be deceived by the AK Party.''

"EVERYONE'S HEART MUST BE WON"

''There is no necessity to keep the current mayor just because the candidate wins wherever the party shows whoever it shows. If it is behind the 2019 election, it will change. Elected with 70 percent, now at 65. This means something is going wrong. Whereas, they should have won everyone's heart there. I think it is necessary to change those who are behind where they were elected. If it is going backwards, it is necessary to change it, and even look at the candidate nominees and put candidates who are close to each other and high after the poll to the ballot box and reward the organization.''

"I WOULD NOT WANT TO BE PART OF PUNISHMENT"

It is noted that the disciplinary process will not proceed regarding what happened during the congress process with CHP Group Deputy Chairman Burcu Köksal. What would you say about this whole process?

In what happened in the provincial congresses, the disciplinary process is only proceeding in Aydın. There was no disciplinary process for our Group Deputy Chairman Burcu anyway. For my own part, I did not accumulate any resentment or grudge for what happened before the morning of the congress. I also told Burcu, 'I have no intention of removing you from the group deputy chairmanship or distrusting you because of your attitude during the congress process, but it would be right for us to work in harmony from now on, for the task to be done well, and for us to re-evaluate the situation from now on.' I also do not want to come and dismiss a group deputy chairman. I do not want to have done something with the calculation of the congress. But on the other hand, group deputy chairmen will represent the group chairman. We will evaluate that issue together in the coming process. I do not want to be part of a punishment because of the congress. I will not make appointments during assignments in the Parliament. I will not make appointments for group deputy chairmanships. When there is an election, I do not find it very correct to say, 'Don't elect, I will nominate.' In fact, I think that election yields better results in group deputy chairmanships. I found benefit in every ballot box I found. I was harmed by every ballot box that was snatched from me.'

News Source: 12punto