A call to party members from Özgür Özel regarding the congress discussions.

CHP General Chairman Özgür Özel answered questions from the press after the funeral prayer held for Selçuk Ayhan, the 23rd term CHP İzmir Deputy who passed away at the age of 71 in the hospital where he was treated in İzmir, at the Bornova Hüseyin İsa Bey Mosque.

In response to a question, Özel evaluated the discussion that started with CHP Istanbul Deputy Oğuz Kaan Salıcı criticizing the "normalization" process on his social media account yesterday and CHP Spokesperson Deniz Yücel responding to Salıcı, along with a group of deputies criticizing Yücel's response and calling for a congress.

Reminding that CHP is the leading party, Özel emphasized that the party and the public should not be preoccupied with a discussion that is not present on the streets and an inward-looking agenda. Özel also warned party members who value his words not to engage in these discussions and stated that if a new discussion arises, it should not be responded to.

"CHP CONTINUES AS THE LEADING PARTY IN POLLS"

Özel's statement regarding the discussion among deputies is as follows:

"I express this to both İzmir deputies and all our deputies; as the General Chairman of CHP, I am ending this discussion. From now on, no CHP member should occupy the party and the public with such inward-looking agendas. We are in İzmir, we nominated 31 mayoral candidates, and we elected 29 of them. We broke the most important record in Turkey's history, we have 413 municipalities. After 47 years, CHP is the leading party, and for the first time in 22 years, the AK Party has become the second party. In polls, CHP continues as the leading party. What are we discussing here as CHP, what can't we share with each other? We have an important task ahead. We will make the party the leading party and bring Atatürk's party to power. We will continue together with this motivation.

ÖZEL'S CALL TO PARTY MEMBERS

Without distinguishing between right and wrong in discussions, I apologize on behalf of all the wrongdoers for all the right ones. They should leave these unnecessary discussions aside. It is truly meaningless for CHP to engage in inward-looking discussions while people are suffering from economic hardship, poverty, and unemployment. Anyone who is not satisfied with the situation in the party already knows what to do according to the party's statute. In that case, no one says anything to anyone, but they should not continue a discussion that is not present on the streets on social media. CHP is not being discussed on the streets; hunger, poverty, unemployment, and insecurity are being discussed. The right to live of everyone, from women to the stray cats and dogs on the street, is under threat. Therefore, there is no benefit to our party and our country in having a discussion that is not present on the streets on social media. From now on, I call on everyone who values my words in CHP to never engage in these discussions. If someone disregards our words and says these things, it will not be responded to, and we will return to the country's agenda.

We have been the leading party for 8 months. In September alone, we fell to second place in two out of nine polls. Even there, it was the Statute Congress. No matter how successful it is, it is an inward-looking discussion. When we turn inward, we lose and cause losses. We will do our job and look ahead. From now on, no one in CHP will try to outdo each other. If someone is still talking, leave it to the conscience of the party, and no one should respond to each other; let’s focus on our work.

THE FUSE OF THE DISCUSSION WAS LIT BY SALICI

CHP Istanbul Deputy Oğuz Kaan Salıcı criticized Özel's normalization policy in a statement he made on his social media account yesterday, saying, "The demand for deputies to stand up in front of Erdoğan without any explanation is also being questioned by our party organization. It has been seen that standing up in front of the authority that appointed a trustee to our municipality in the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly is unacceptable," and called for a congress.

In response to Salıcı's statements, CHP Party Spokesperson Deniz Yücel described Salıcı's criticisms as "incompatible with party membership and responsibility," "pure arrogance," "blind ambition," "aggressive attitude," and "reckless statements." Yücel stated that Salıcı is in a "state of negligence" and emphasized, "While chasing personal ambition and interests, anyone who engages in actions and statements that will harm the institutional identity of the party should know that our party will not remain indifferent to this."

ERDAN KILIÇ: I INVITE OUR PARTY SPOKESPERSON TO LOYALTY

Following Yücel's statement, a group of deputies, especially CHP İzmir Deputies, criticized Yücel's statements. CHP İzmir Deputy Sevda Erdan Kılıç reacted to Yücel's statement with the following post on X:

"The expressions used by our Party Spokesperson Deniz Yücel regarding the statements made by our deputy friend Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, who has previously held high-level positions in our party, are striking: On one hand; 'Pure arrogance,' 'Blind ambition,' 'State of negligence,' 'Personal ambition,' 'Chasing interests,' 'Reckless attitude.' On the other hand; 'Call for unity and togetherness,' 'Emphasis on reason and conscience,' 'Responsibility of being a party member,' 'Language of courtesy and tolerance.' This contradiction casts a shadow on the credibility of the words. To first target someone and then call for unity is inconsistent with political consistency. Either the language of criticism or the call for unity needs to be reconsidered.

As CHP members, regardless of the positions we hold or have held, we will say what we need to say and do what we need to do in order to uphold the founding values and historical mission of CHP. As our party spokesperson said; opening a discussion about the congress, criticizing the chairman, the party management, and party policies is a state of negligence, so how should we evaluate the calls for congress and political criticisms made throughout the history of CHP? On this occasion, I also invite our party spokesperson to LOYALTY.

MAHIR POLAT'S CRITICISM OF YÜCEL

Polat: "I hope they act considering our party's institutional identity rather than their own ambitions."

CHP İzmir Deputy Mahir Polat criticized Yücel's comments about Salıcı, stating that they are distant from the party's traditions, and said:

"Today, I read with sadness the comments of our party spokesperson, which are distant from the traditions of our party, regarding the criticisms of our former Deputy Chairman Mr. Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, which are in place and appropriate for a Republican People's Party member. First of all, the fact that he could not make any explanation that would satisfy either our party members or the public regarding the criticized issues reveals how valid Mr. Salıcı's criticisms are. However, I would like to associate his failure to make a statement regarding the subject of the criticisms with party discipline, but the style and manner he used in his comments contradict both our party and the personality of our party spokesperson, as well as the comradely relationship we all know with Mr. Salıcı from the past."

I hope that our party members in positions of responsibility will act considering our party's corporate identity rather than their own interests in their future statements.

ADIGÜZEL: THE CONGRESS RIGHT IS NOT A BLESSING

CHP Ordu Deputy Mustafa Adıgüzel, who shared his speech from a television program on his X account, stated that the right to congress is not a blessing, saying: "We do not come from a culture of submission; Atatürk's words at the 3rd Congress in 1931 are clear. It is normal and indeed a duty for CHP deputies to object to things that are going wrong. It is not normal to just listen to a ton of criticism, to insist on mistakes, and to reduce national and institutional concerns to a personal perspective. The right to congress is not a blessing, nor is it a test or demonstration of power. The congress is a democratic tradition."

SARIBAL: CHP HAS NO LUXURY TO FOLLOW A PASSIVE POLICY

CHP Bursa Deputy Orhan Sarıbal also shared his speech from a television program he attended yesterday, noting the following regarding the discussions: "When we look at the recent developments, we see that the normalization process benefits the current government and creates discomfort at the grassroots level. We shared this discomfort openly and transparently with our chairman. On the other hand, it is quite clear that President Erdoğan aims to re-elect himself through constitutional amendments. In this context, he desires a passive opposition. However, CHP has no luxury to follow a passive policy; we must meet the expectations of our people by maintaining an active, principled, and grassroots-based political understanding."

ÖZTÜRKMEN: CHP ORGANIZATION WANTS THE CONGRESS TO BE HELD URGENTLY

Gaziantep Deputy Hasan Öztürkmen expressed that the CHP organization urgently wants a congress to be held where party policies will be discussed and where the leaders need to regain trust, stating, "Thus, either the leaders will find morale through the approval of their policies or they will leave their places to leaders who will manage and implement policies suitable for the realities of the country and the expectations of the people."

CHP Uşak Deputy Ali Karaoba, Hatay Deputy Nermin Yıldırım Kara, Konya Deputy Barış Bektaş, and Kahramanmaraş Deputy Ali Öztunç also supported Salıcı by sharing his statements again.