06.04.2026 14:30
CHP leader Özgür Özel visited the DEM Party. After the meeting, Özel stated, "There are 8 vacant seats; it is necessary for the Turkish Grand National Assembly to make a decision for a by-election for the vacant seats and for the Speaker of the Assembly to fulfill their duty. The process of having 22 deputies resign and holding a by-election is for the first 30 months. No one should say it won't happen if 22 deputies do not resign. That by-election will take place; the constitution says so," he said. DEM Party's Hatimoğulları stated, "If there is a demand for early elections from the public, we will take this message."
Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel visited the DEM Party Headquarters with his accompanying delegation. CHP Secretary General Selin Sayek Böke and Deputy Chairpersons Gökçe Gökçen and Sezgin Tanrıkulu accompanied Özel. The delegation was welcomed at the door by members of the DEM Party.
THE MEETING LASTED 2 HOURS
The meeting between Özgür Özel and DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan lasted approximately 2 hours. After the meeting, Özel gave important messages at a joint press conference.
CHP leader Özgür Özel stated the following after the meeting:
"We had the opportunity to evaluate almost everything regarding the various works we are involved in, as well as the interventions in politics through the judiciary that the CHP has been facing for a year and have intensified recently. Due to the mismanagement of the Turkish economy, it is extremely fragile, and there are no necessary protective mechanisms in a matter like the Iran war that will affect all world economies. During the period we refer to as the March 19 coup, so many reserves were burned and so much cost was paid to replace them that it reflected on the citizens as poverty, unemployment, and high cost of living. Therefore, a new shock, without any buffer, is being imposed directly on the citizens in Turkey while all other countries are protecting their citizens. There are no winners in war; the most vulnerable groups, especially the poor, are the losers of this war. We will continue to keep this on Turkey's agenda."
"I WILL REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT FROM NUMAN KURTULMUŞ IN THE COMING DAYS"
"Another topic is 'A Terror-Free and Democratic Turkey.' A report has been prepared and signed on this issue. We are all waiting together. There are articles 6 and 7 in the report. These articles require both the immediate end of terrorism and the taking of democratic steps. Mr. Numan expresses with great satisfaction that the report has been prepared with great efforts by all parties. For example, in the parliament chaired by Mr. Numan, Hatay Deputy Can Atalay is absent. Why? Because a decision of the Constitutional Court has not been implemented. Then there is another court decision against that decision. The second decision of the Constitutional Court states that 'the decision not to implement the Constitutional Court's decision regarding Can Atalay is null and void.' Therefore, there is only one job that needs to be done. We will open the internet and take a look. With Mr. Numan's rightful instruction, Can Atalay has been added to the parliamentary registry and is waiting to take the oath. This is the only job that needs to be done, but this step has not even been taken yet.
The practice of trustees needs to be ended, but no steps are being taken in this regard. We discussed that political parties, especially the esteemed Speaker of the Assembly, have responsibilities in this matter. Our stance on this issue is clear. We remind this issue once again. After I finish my visits to political parties in the coming days, I will request an appointment from Mr. Numan Kurtulmuş. If they find it appropriate, we will have a meeting with them. In this meeting, I will have the opportunity to discuss the steps that need to be taken regarding articles 6 and 7 of the report. Additionally, we discussed the political ethics law as one of the areas we will work together.
"ELECTION IS APPROACHING"
The election is approaching, and we believe that we are getting closer to power every passing day. Two things come to the fore here. One is election security, and this needs to be addressed during the decision-making phase of the voters. Political parties exist to compete. We can compete in the economy, we can compete in social policies, we can compete in transportation. However, democracy is not a competitive field for parties; it is a common defense area. Abandoning democracy can be defined as a resistance area against this. All opposition parties need to be in consensus regarding democratization. We need to reach a consensus on fair and free elections and constitutional democracy. We have conveyed the demand for solidarity on this issue to other political parties as well.
"THERE WILL BE A BY-ELECTION, THE CONSTITUTION SAYS SO"
Discussions about by-elections are being held. According to the Constitution, by-elections cannot be held in the first 30 months and the last year. Other than that, it states that a by-election will be held in case of a vacancy in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). If the number of vacant members is one-fifth of the total number, it says that there is no need to wait for 30 months. Currently, 8 deputies are vacant. It is imperative that the TBMM makes a decision for a by-election for the vacant seats as soon as possible, and that the Speaker of the TBMM fulfills his responsibilities. The process of making 22 deputies resign and holding a by-election is for the first 30 months. A by-election should already be held now. No one should say that it cannot happen if 22 deputies do not resign. There will be a by-election; the constitution says so. A will must emerge regarding the holding of that by-election. We discussed completing the number of resigning deputies to 30, but that is valid for the first 30 months. It should only be held for the 8 vacant seats. Actually, Hatay is not vacant, but we want to see if the AK Party is ready to compete in Istanbul's 3rd district and in Istanbul's 1st district, which is vacant due to the late Sırrı Süreyya Önder.
"LET ALL OUR ASSETS BE OPENED AND HOW WE ACQUIRED THEM BE INVESTIGATED"
"The bill is pending in the Assembly and comes up every year, but the AK Party and MHP are not inclined to it. In the coming days, we will also visit the Future Party regarding this issue. We confidently say this against the attacks our party is facing: Whether it is a mayor, a deputy, a minister, or a president, everyone's assets should be transparent and verifiable. Moreover, the political institution should be accountable regarding how that property was acquired. It should be subject to instant audits. We reiterate our call on this issue once again. Those who are confident should put forth their accounts, records, and assets. This is retroactive. Ekrem İmamoğlu is not exempt from this, Özgür Özel is not exempt from this, but Erdoğan is not exempt either, nor is Akın Gürlek. Let all our assets be opened and how we acquired them be investigated. Ekrem İmamoğlu is also fully confident in this matter. He has not experienced enrichment through politics.
TÜLAY HATİMOĞULLARI: WE BELIEVE THIS LAW MUST DEFINITELY PASS FROM THE ASSEMBLY
After Özel, Tülay Hatimoğulları stated the following:
"We discussed important issues. We evaluated the economic and social developments in Turkey, the Middle East region, and the world today. There is a very deep economic crisis in Turkey. This crisis is an extremely deep crisis that began before the Iran war started. Today, people in this country are dying of hunger. It is a period in which we all need to put our hands under the stone to take steps for the democratization of Turkey and to open that door for the necessary legal regulations to be enacted.
There have been law proposals from the CHP regarding the Political Ethics Law. We believe that this law must definitely pass from the Assembly. It is a law that needs to be designed broadly to include not only the elected but also bureaucrats, and Turkey needs this.
HATİMOĞULLARI'S "BY-ELECTION" STATEMENT
"If there is a demand from the public for early elections, we will take this message.
BY-ELECTION VISITS WILL CONTINUE
CHP Chairman Özgür Özel stated in a press conference following the detention of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey that they have put the by-election on their agenda and mentioned that he would meet with the Speaker of the Parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş.
It has been learned that Özel will embark on a political party tour regarding the by-election agenda.
In this context, the first visit was made to the DEM Party. CHP Chairman Özgür Özel met with Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan at the DEM Party Headquarters today at 12:00 PM, accompanied by his delegation.
The visits will continue in Istanbul on Wednesday, April 8. On Wednesday, Özel will meet with the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) Erkan Baş and the Chairman of the Labor Party (EMEP) Seyit Aslan. It is planned for the visits to continue in Ankara on Thursday and Friday with other political parties.
According to the information obtained, the agenda of the meetings will include not only the by-election but also attacks on democracy, the effects of the Iran War on Turkey, and the current state of the economy.