14.03.2026 21:14
Mustafa Destici, the Chairman of the Great Unity Party, said, "I think the election will be at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028. Either the Parliament will decide on the election, so that our President can run again, which we want and support; or a constitutional amendment needs to take place. I believe that a constitutional amendment is not very easy."
Great Union Party (BBP) Chairman Mustafa Destici met with members of the press at an iftar program.
"THERE IS A DISTORTED JUSTICE BALANCE AGAINST RETIREES" Destici drew attention to the inadequacy of pension increases, stating, "If the salary of a worker is at the level of 60 thousand lira, the pension remains at around 20 thousand lira. However, if we look at the balance in January 2023, the ratio should be approximately 60 to 40. If a worker earns 60, the minimum pension should also be around 40 thousand lira. When I express this, the response I receive is this; 'If a thousand lira increase is made, it will cost 16 billion monthly, 192 billion lira annually.' 'If an increase of 10 thousand lira is made as you say, the annual cost will reach 1 trillion 920 billion lira. There is no such resource in the budget.' However, if the balance is disturbed here, if the scales of justice are skewed, then the entire system will be disrupted. Right now, there is a distorted justice balance against retirees. Therefore, this needs to be corrected in some way. Just as resources have been found for civil servants, resources should also be found for retirees in the same way, and this balance should be reestablished. It may be difficult to raise it to 40 thousand lira all at once. However, at least in the first stage, the pension should be raised to around 30 thousand lira. There is no acceptable side to a figure below this. Especially considering the difficulties faced by a retiree trying to live on a single salary, this situation becomes much clearer," he said.
"HOLIDAY BONUS SHOULD BE 10 THOUSAND LIRA" Destici stated that he has been voicing the grievances of retirees from the beginning, saying, "This grievance started in July 2023. I am not saying with a populist policy, 'Let this be given to retirees, let that be given.' I am substantiating it, presenting the justifications. Now, the citizenship salary they will give is based on the minimum wage. In our opinion, the minimum wage should not be the basis. Instead of the minimum wage, a minimum household living amount should be determined and that should be taken as a basis according to regions. If inflation increases were taken into account, the retirement bonus should currently be 10 thousand lira. But right now it is 4 thousand lira. If the inflation difference of the last year is considered, inflation has increased by over 30%; therefore, it should be over 5 thousand. But there seems to be an atmosphere that it will not be increased at all. This is wrong and unacceptable. To give our retirees some breathing room, a holiday bonus of 10 thousand lira should be given to our retirees, and their faces should be brightened before the holiday," he said.
"WE SPEAK WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE" In response to a question about how some of his criticisms towards the government are received in the People's Alliance, Destici said, "We have conversations with our Minister of Treasury and Finance. Other friends from the AK Party lightly touch on our demands. But they also know the truth. Who would have a word to say to retirees? The retirees are right. They do not ask for much. It is a common issue for everyone. There is injustice towards retirees. If there is a right violation, we cannot remain silent about it. We are not a party established just to enter and exit elections. We are a political movement. We have an idea and a mission. We speak what we believe to be true. We say what we believe to be true in the process of a Turkey without terrorism. But our friends in the AK Party also welcome it; there is no problem," he said.
"I THINK THE ELECTION WILL BE AT THE END OF 2027 OR THE BEGINNING OF 2028" Destici, regarding discussions of early elections, stated that he does not expect an election in 2026, saying, "I think the election will be at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028. Either the Parliament will make a decision for elections, or our President will be able to run again, which we want and support. Especially under these conditions we are going through, the state of war also makes it right for Turkey to continue with this experience and stability, in our opinion. Or a constitutional amendment needs to take place. I do not think that a constitutional amendment is very easy.
"IF THE PARLIAMENT SAYS 'ELECTION', THERE WILL BE AN ELECTION AND THE PRESIDENT WILL RUN AGAIN" But if the Parliament makes a decision for elections, then he can run again. It seems that if the Parliament makes a decision, the election must be in 2027. No, it can also make this decision in February 2028. Normally, the election is at the end of May 2028. The Supreme Election Council needs to announce the election calendar at the beginning of March. A week before that, if the Parliament says 'election', there will be an election and the President will run again," he said. Destici also answered the question, 'Should there be early elections?' with "No, in our opinion, there should not be."
"OUR GOAL IS 2 MILLION VOTES" Destici also responded to a question about alliance searches during the election process, saying, "We are members of the People's Alliance. But these searches outside of us are things that are part of the nature of politics. We should preserve the existing situation and build upon it. In the last election, we received 1% of 550 thousand votes. Our goal is to receive at least 2 million votes. In public opinion studies, we currently appear to be over 3%," he said.