Özel announced İmamoğlu's candidacy for president without revealing his name.

18.02.2025 15:11

In a speech to the party group, CHP leader Özgür Özel referred to the judicial process concerning Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, stating, "What is being done is an attempted coup against the next president. We will not surrender to this coup." Özel's remarks were interpreted as "announcing a presidential candidate without naming anyone."

```html

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, who made evaluations on the current issues in the party group, announced the presidential candidacy of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu without naming him.

"WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IS A COUP ATTEMPT AGAINST THE NEXT PRESIDENT."

Referring to the judicial process against İmamoğlu, Özel stated, "What has been done is a coup attempt against the next President. The coup alliance is trying to stage a coup not against the current president, but against the next president. We will not surrender to those who are eyeing our party's management to avoid a primary election," he said.

Highlights from Özel's statements;

"Since the 78 citizens, 36 of whom are children, lost their lives in Kartalkaya, it has been 28 days. For 28 days, consciences have been burning, that fire never goes out. The Interior Minister, who promised to finish this job in 10 days, has not said a word. The expert committee, which is trying to dilute the issue by saying we are expanding, has not yet produced a report after being assigned a new committee when faced with resistance. Detention periods have been extended. Then arrests and releases were made, but not according to an expert report, but according to pressure from Ankara and instructions from there. They did not touch anyone from the Ministry of Tourism and returned, turning it into a system that would not burden the AK Party. It sends shivers down one's spine. We are following this closely. We know that it is expected on Sunday. Instead of dismissing the Minister of Tourism, it is clearly seen that there is an intention to cover up the AK Party's responsibility by melting this issue within a broad cabinet change after the congress.

"NO ONE HAS ESCAPED POVERTY"

No one has escaped, no one has seen a decline in income, no one has avoided poverty. The middle class of the past is now poor, and the poor of the past are gasping for breath in the clutches of deep poverty. In this economic crisis, students are among the groups most affected, just like retirees and minimum wage earners. An important and scientific study shows that the monthly living cost of a university student will be 22,920 lira in September 2024. Since September, when the official inflation rate is processed over six months, this cost rises to 25,000 lira. We live in a country where the costs of three meals and housing exceed a minimum wage. In the last year, the number of university students who suspended their education has surpassed those who did so during the pandemic. In 2023, 74,000, and in 2024, 56,000 university students suspended their education and went back. We are facing a pandemic of poverty here. 250,000 university students have applied to work three days a week in jobs that İŞKUR will find. This is the clearest indication of the poverty, financial difficulties, housing issues, and hunger these students are facing. And almost all of these students are those who have to take KYK loans, students whose income situation is at that point.

"THEY WANT TO AVOID TALKING ABOUT FIRE AND POVERTY"

Of course, they want us to talk about the judicial harassment they have committed. We will talk. They want us to discuss the unjust attacks and lawlessness they have committed and not talk about these issues. They want to avoid discussing fire. They want to avoid discussing poverty. They want to avoid discussing the newborn gang. They want to avoid discussing the targeting of doctors by members of parliament. They want to avoid discussing the hunger and poverty of students.

"THE INFLATION OF RAMADAN FOOD BASKET IS 70%"

Ramadan is coming, Mr. Erdoğan. There is no hunger for people during Ramadan; this worship is obligatory for the rich to understand the plight of the poor, and the poor know very well that the rich do not understand their situation. Before Ramadan, let's make the comparison this time for the Ramadan food basket. We will not go back 20 years; we will only go back to last year. A Ramadan food basket consists of 8 essential products. It will fill the stomach during Ramadan, pass through the stomach, keep the fast, and is necessary for sahur and iftar: sunflower oil, bulgur, pasta, chickpeas, minced meat, flour, rice, and tea. The same basket was 950 TL last year. This year, the same brands and the same selling place is 1,610 TL. The increase is 70%. As the blessed Ramadan approaches, I entrust this account to the eyes and conscience of everyone who intends to fast and needs to shop. Is this 70% the inflation of the Ramadan food basket? Is it fair that the minimum wage increase is 30%? As for retirees, the last increase was 15%. The total increase since last Ramadan is just over 40%. I leave those who say, "I have never let my retirees be crushed by inflation, I have never let my minimum wage earners be crushed by inflation," to the conscience of our nation.

"WE ARE CONSTANTLY FOLLOWING EACH OTHER WITH ERDOĞAN"

We are constantly following each other with Tayyip Erdoğan. He applauds himself in warm halls where he cannot throw. He also follows me, saying, 'Mr. Özel,' he says, 'going from town to town, entering goldsmiths and calculating gold.' He says, 'Forget about the gold calculation' and calls me to another place. He goes crazy because I don't go to the place he calls. I have made 213 visits to 54 provinces in a year, except for Manisa. Tayyip Bey has gone to the earthquake zone alone, with hours left, and distributed awards to the five-member gang in a warm hall. However, I called him to the containers. I called him to hear the voices of the 670,000 people he said would all enter their homes in a year. I called him to see that 215,000 of the 222,000 people in Hatay are still in containers.

"FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE MINIMUM WAGE CANNOT BUY A QUARTER GOLD"

Look, what is the last figure I have reached? The minimum wage was first determined in 1951. It has been 74 years since 1951, and for the first time this year, the minimum wage cannot buy a full gold. I am complaining about Erdoğan, who has brought this situation, to my aunt Ayşe and uncle Mehmet, who know this gold calculation better than anyone else.

If you ask what the fundamental reason for this poverty and destitution is, all economists in the world would say; The path the country is taking is not correct. While the direction shown by the first President is clear, there is an understanding that goes in the opposite direction and tries to convince everyone to go that way. There is an independent judiciary, a strong parliament, and a separation of powers in the direction shown by the veteran. We are ten times behind those who follow the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the rule of law, and democracy.

REACTION TO THE KAYYUM AND HDK OPERATION

Waking up with feelings, waking up not to alarms but to bad news phone calls has now become the main agenda and a part of the life of the entire opposition. Recently, another trustee was appointed to the Van Metropolitan Municipality, which has a population of over 1 million. We had noted these yesterday. This morning, I spoke with the leaders of EMEP, DISK, and many organizations that are parts of social opposition, and many members of these organizations have been detained for various reasons, with the narrative that they were invited to a conference five years ago, attended, talked about democracy, and discussed strengthening social opposition.

Today, the police knocked on the door of each of them, a new operation has begun. The governors appointed as trustees disregard the will of the people once again, while democratic objections are punished with violence, new detentions, and arrests, and in 11 months, trustees have been appointed to 11 municipalities. Just like in the past, today, there are those who continue to oppose this lawlessness regardless of who it is assigned to and what is said through perception operations. Yesterday, we made a visit to Van with a strong delegation, which was closely followed by the public. The importance given by the CHP to this democracy solidarity in the streets of Van, the trust felt, and the hope for the future show that whether it is called the Victory Party, a municipality with DEM, the CHP, or the Labor Party, or even if it is another party tomorrow, regardless of the completely opposite politics, what falls to all the opposition against this government is this: there is no salvation alone; either together or none of us.

"WHO IS WITH WHOM"

HÜDA PAR held a 'Kurdish issue workshop' over the weekend. If we try to discuss the Kurdish issue on the ground created by HÜDA PAR, this party would be denying itself. That HÜDA PAR is the party of pig farmers, the party where violence against women is embodied, the party that can say 'we need to take care of single women.' That HÜDA PAR is against the flag, the state, and Atatürk. It seeks to benefit from democracy while trying to eliminate it. I have no words for HÜDA PAR, but I have something to say to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Who is with whom, Mr. Tayyip? Who is with whom?

"THE OPPOSITION IS BEING PRESSURED"

Now, Ekrem İmamoğlu is facing a request for 2.5 years in prison at lightning speed in 5 separate cases opened against him. A political ban is being sought for Mr. İmamoğlu from 5 separate cases. He exposed a process triggered by MIT in Ankara, and we had stopped that exposure at that moment. Our mayors and municipal council members are being arrested. All the opportunities for the opposition, the television channels where they can make their voices heard, the journalists who report their news, and the civil society organizations that act with them are being pressured, and while this is happening from all sides, this civil coup attempt is also part of a dirty plan against the Republican People's Party. A coup is being attempted against Turkey's next president.