First statement from Özgür Özel after the detention of Mustafa Bozbey.

31.03.2026 16:50

The first statement from CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who canceled his Kosovo program after the detention of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, has come. Özel said, "Today marks the second anniversary of the day CHP experienced its greatest local election victory. I went to sleep praying that March 31 would once again be a day of victory. But I woke up early in the morning to an operation."

After the detention of 55 people, including the wife and daughter of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who canceled his Kosovo program, held a press conference at the CHP Headquarters. Özgür Özel stated, "Today is March 31, 2026. It is the anniversary of the March 31, 2024 elections. It is the second anniversary of the day when the CHP became the first party after 47 years and experienced the greatest local election victory in the history of the Republic of Turkey that has been granted to a party. Last night, as I was going to sleep, I fell asleep with this prayer. I hope tomorrow, March 31, brings good luck to the national team in Turkey. We ended the 47-year longing. It had brought us good luck. May the 24-year longing end, hopefully.   But I woke up early in the morning to an operation carried out at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality," he said.

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"I FELL ASLEEP SAYING 'MAY THE 24-YEAR LONGING END'"

In his statements, Özgür Özel used the following expressions:

"We had planned to go to Pristina to support our national team and share a pride together. However, today, unfortunately, we woke up to another dark, bad, gloomy, and frustrating day. Today is March 31, 2026. It is the anniversary of the March 31, 2024 elections. It is the second anniversary of the day when the Republican People's Party became the first party after 47 years and experienced the greatest local election victory in the history of the Republic of Turkey that has been granted to a party. It is the anniversary of our great victory as the Republican People's Party, and last night, as I was going to sleep, I fell asleep with this prayer.

I closed my eyes with this wish. I hope tomorrow, March 31, brings good luck to the national team in Turkey. We ended the 47-year longing. It had brought us good luck. May the 24-year longing end, hopefully.

"BUT I WOKE UP TO AN OPERATION CARRIED OUT IN THE MORNING"

Let's go tomorrow. Let's win this match together. I had hoped that our local election victory from two years ago would coincide with a national victory this time, that March 31 would once again be a day of victory, and I had prayed for this. But I woke up early in the morning to an operation carried out at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.

I will soon share how we evaluated the events in Bursa and what we think moving forward. But first, it is worth briefly recalling.

Our success story dates back to November 2023. In fact, in May 2023, on May 14 and 28, we experienced an election where the youth, the poor, women, farmers, and workers in Turkey believed in the hope of a change of power, and we did not succeed. We lost, and this loss did not have the impact of an ordinary election loss.

In my definition, the opposition voters experienced an emotional rupture, and a trauma situation emerged. As you all have been following and watching. And that trauma was leading us to a great disaster. The polls showed the same.

Before the undecided votes were distributed, the party's vote was 13.5 for some, 14 for others. The responses regarding not participating in the election were at very high rates, reactions, protest votes, and here, a team in the Republican People's Party, predominantly composed of youth and women, stated that there was a need for self-criticism. They said there was a need for change.

They said if the Republican People's Party changes, Turkey will change. We believed and saw this while saying it. We saw retired teachers who stopped going to teacher's houses, party members who passed each other on the street without seeing each other because they were looking down, and the hopelessness of the youth. And we set out on a path.

"OUR DELEGATE, WHO WAS SAID TO BE UNCONVINCIBLE, WAS PERSUADED BY THE YOUTH"

At first, very few people believed this. Then it became something they bet on, saying it was impossible, and they put their professional lives on the line, and that delegate's words belong to Muharrem İnce.

The words were very heavy, and the party managed to bear that weight. Our delegate, who was said to be unable to win an election even if Atatürk came, was not convinced by us, but by the youth, by women, by mothers. They said go and give these young people a chance. The young person who perhaps for the first time in their life took the elevator to the 4th floor together convinced our delegate in the elevator. Barbers convinced the delegates while cutting hair. Grandchildren convinced their grandfathers.

Fathers convinced their children, and what was said to be impossible happened, and a change occurred in the party. After the change, we returned and said that we had said this in the words of that change. Just as Bülent Ecevit succeeded, having made the party the first party in all four elections he entered, two local and two general. We would do the same. We said if we couldn't, we would leave. The first test was four months later, and for four months, we tried to nominate as many women as possible with the youngest teams, to tell as many people as possible that change is coming to your city.

In fact, one day, a friend asked in the elevator. It was probably Mahir Bey. When he asked where we would see the change, I said you will see it in the list of İzmir. Out of 31 mayoral candidates, 28 were new. Throughout the history of the Republic, there were 9 female candidates from all parties, and 6 were elected. Out of 14 young candidates, 13 were elected. This party, for the first time on election day, instead of leaving their posts, abandoning the wet signature, sent a message to the ballot box officials saying, "You will receive very good news from all over Turkey soon. Don't get too happy and disperse. Don't leave the wet signed minutes." We knew from the polls before the ballot boxes were opened. When they were opened, we saw that Turkey counted the CHP's change as a self-criticism.

It said this is a self-criticism, and I am giving them a chance. It did not just give any chance. It gave first place after 47 years. It gave 65% of the population, 85% of the economy. It said, manage here, let’s see. Manage, and I am giving this to you as an important credit for the hope of change in Turkey. Either this or this podium or something similar, I don't know. When I appeared before you in a 600-person hall, when I came out in front of the press members, and then early in the morning and later when I got on the bus in the garden, I explained this. I said the winner of this election is the nation, and there is no loser. I told the CHP members that we have celebrated enough. Now let's go to bed. Let's wake up early tomorrow. We have work to do.

I told them to use those keys accordingly. Looking into all their eyes. And I said, knowing what would happen to me in the continuation of that election, since the nation has given us the task of being the first party, we will act with the responsibility of being the first party. The first party cannot ignore the leaders of other parties during the holiday. The nation has given you the authority to govern. The crown has been placed on your head so that you can be wise with that head. From now on, it is our duty to extend our hand. On the first holiday, I called all the party leaders, including one who had never called us until that day.

"I TOLD THEM, 'YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOCAL, I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERAL'"

I said to those who belittled our success and did not congratulate me, leaders who did not shake hands with me at the martyr's funeral, do not suit this country. I said it is unacceptable for the first and second parties not to shake hands, not to meet, not to greet each other. In your village of Hacıhaliller in Manisa Şehzadeler, my neighborhood representative is having a wedding with your neighborhood representative, and they are holding a funeral together.

"I WELCOMED AND SENT OFF KNOWING I WOULD BE CURSED"

And I went, I visited. I invited. I hosted in this building. I welcomed at the door, knowing that I would be cursed, knowing how much oppression he had done, I sent him off at the door. I didn't say much about myself. The other day, the commander with a hole in his cheek, whose soup was running from here, passed away the other day. His family buried him. I said let him go. I said they should not oppress the Gezi detainees anymore. Let the retired not crawl. Let's join hands. In this country, let us serve these people locally, and you generally. Let's defend the national interests of the country together abroad. Let's take the F-35 apart and bring the Eurofighters to this country, I said. I said if the people in Kayseri go to each other's funerals, let it be the same in Ankara in good times and bad times. If it were today, I would do the same again if I were to come back to that point. Because the people gave me that duty that day.

"THEY PRESSURED US TO END NORMALIZATION"

He said he didn't want a fight. He said he wanted service. He said he wanted dialogue. He said we are not enemies. Then this was good for all of Turkey. Open and see, all the polls are standing still. The support rate for that process. I swear, he said that the process softened. I said this is the normal. I said normalization. History is very concerned with who named the closing processes. No one calls it softening during that period. They call it normalization. Because the people believe this is the normal.

Then, with the permanence of the votes seen as entrusted to the CHP in the polls, all the processes and dialogues initiated by the Republican People's Party found support even among AK Party voters at around 46%, and those who said they could vote for the CHP increased from 25% to 63%, pushing this. This benefits them, they said. This benefits the people. I could have left. As long as this nation is governed as it wishes, as it deserves. I wish instead of hitting democracy, they would have taken everything into account and removed us. Do not end normalization, do not let it end.

Ending it also has a cost. The people loved it. Of course, the people love it. Because one of those two brothers is from the AK Party, one is from the MHP, and one is from the CHP in Anatolia. The father-in-law and the son-in-law love a child together. One as a father, one as a spouse, but one can be from the AK Party, and one can be from the CHP. The people do not want politics based on this fight, this stress, this oppression, and always tension. They do not deserve it either. Various tricks, various attacks. We stood patiently. You all experienced it firsthand.

So, in front of the innocent mills, the first three women graduated with honors in land, air, and sea. Eight days after the ceremony, they declared war on those who repeated a ritual of "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal."

Why should normalization end in the country? They pressed on our calluses. They pressed on our veins. They did all sorts of things. It didn't happen like this, it didn't happen like that. They turned around, they circled. It is not something that can happen. There is a spirit that wrote the constitution. If a prosecutor or a judge enters politics, he cannot return there, brother. The deputy minister's position is not written for those who want to enter politics.

Because that constitution was not there when it was written. You made up that deputy minister position later. But you told your organization that the deputy minister is technical, these are political. They will establish the connection between my organization and the ministry. From Demirtaş to Süreyya Önder, from Canan Kaftancıoğlu to anyone who comes to mind in social justice, he had the deputy minister kill justice. He took that. He made him the chief prosecutor of Istanbul. From that day to this day, there has been no peace in Istanbul. There is no peace in Turkey. There is no such thing as normalization.

While the normal is normal, the people loved this job, they loved the fight, they loved the service, look until the day they appointed the first trustee to Esenyurt Municipality, neither I nor Erdoğan had a single defamation case against each other. Not a word of insult. There is criticism. I have held various kinds of rallies. I have held 105 local government rallies, which is unbelievable. More than 20 thematic rallies. I went to my hometown and held a tea rally. While holding a tea rally, I said to the people of Rize, does this base price suit you?

I received applause from AK Party members on the fringes of the CHP. That went against him. I also held a pistachio rally in Gaziantep. I held a rally for unappointed teachers, but I did not say a bad word. "