12.08.2026 11:20
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, regarding himself and party executives voting "yes" to the "Framework Law," said, "My conscience is clear. It would not be right for us to do the opposite of a view we have defended for years just because of opposition to Erdoğan. I think we made the right decision. I don't see it as 'He won again.' If something is going to be won in the end, at least he didn't win alone. If there is a winner, it is the country that wins."
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, regarding himself and party executives voting "yes" to the "Framework Law," said, "My conscience is clear. It would not be right for us to do the opposite of a view we have defended for years just because of anti-Erdoğan sentiment. I think we made the right decision. I don't see it as 'he won again.' If something is to be gained in the end, at least he didn't gain it alone. If there is a winner, it's the country that wins."
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, in an interview with Nefes newspaper, answered questions about the New Party's stance during the General Assembly vote on the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration.
"WE DEVELOPED A HYBRID MODEL"
Özel, in his statement also responding to harsh criticisms from those who opposed the framework law against him and his newly established party, said:
"What we did began to be understood over time. Positive comments and reactions also started coming in. I believe this: As the New Party, we did a new-generation thing. If we had imposed a 'yes' vote, our deputies would have been in trouble, and some would have had to act against group discipline and face issues. The Chairman's stance was also important. He must act on principle. We developed a hybrid model. We were way beyond it, but when talking about democracy, the hardest thing was to make a rigid decision and impose it on deputies. All AK Party members signed a text they hadn't seen. I told our New Party deputies, 'Trust me, I will explain my concerns at the podium, and I leave you alone with your conscience and your voters.' They voted according to the opinions coming from their cities. In places like Diyarbakır and Istanbul electoral districts with many Kurdish voters, there were those who wanted 'yes,' but for instance, in my city, Manisa, the predominant opinion was 'you should vote no.' Two deputies from Manisa voted 'no.'
"OPPOSING SUCH A STEP DOESN'T SEEM PRINCIPLED"
A terrorist organization is dissolving. There are certain steps. It's understandable for parties with nationalist sensitivities to say 'no,' but for a social democratic party that says 'there is a Kurdish issue' and prepared a comprehensive report on this in 1989, opposing such a first step doesn't seem principled. We must act on principle."
"WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF OPPOSING THE END OF TERRORISM"
Özel, stating that it was very difficult for the entire party, members, and all deputies to display the same stance, also explained the reasons why a large part of the party said "no":
"As you know, we are subjected to very big attacks. The process regarding the law was not transparent. The required transparency was not even followed in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. They sent it to us even just half an hour before. People didn't even know what was being discussed. It was thought there were things in the text that weren't there. In such an environment, telling everyone 'You will say yes' and making a joint decision was very difficult. Saying 'no' all together would have swept us elsewhere. It would have brought us to a place that doesn't give peace a chance. We didn't look at it from a utilitarian perspective, but at a point where terrorism ends, we would have been accused of opposing it."
"IF THERE IS A WINNER, IT'S THE COUNTRY THAT WINS"
When asked about the assessments that the law was interpreted as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "extending his political life," Özel spoke as follows:
"My conscience is clear. It would not be right for us to do the opposite of a view we have defended for years just because of anti-Erdoğan sentiment. I think we made the right decision. I don't see it as 'he won again.' If something is to be gained in the end, at least he didn't gain it alone. If there is a winner, it's the country that wins."
"I THINK WE WILL BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD"
Özel answered the question, "How will you win the hearts of voters who say they are disappointed?" as follows:
"Politics that says 'black' whenever Erdoğan says 'white' doesn't always win. Be sure, the AK Party was the most disturbed by our 'yes' votes. They didn't expect this from us, and if we had said no, they would have used that too. Remember, they were saying, 'If they say yes, they lose nationalists; if they say no, they lose Kurds.' I think we will be better understood in the long run. I believe that as angry people see we won't surrender to Erdoğan, they will realize that this delusion is not true. Acting opportunistically on such an important matter and succumbing to our anger would not have been right."