17.07.2026 16:20
Olcay Baykal, the late wife of Deniz Baykal, was bid farewell in a ceremony held in Ankara and laid to rest beside her husband; the brief conversation between AK Party's Savcı Sayan and CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at the funeral made headlines.
Olcay Baykal, the wife of former CHP Chairman Deniz Baykal, who passed away at the age of 88 in a hospital in Antalya, was laid to rest in a ceremony in Ankara. The funeral, which brought together the political world, was marked by a 20-second dialogue full of reproach between AK Party member Savcı Sayan and former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, unfolding past political backstage stories in the mosque courtyard.
POLITICAL WORLD GATHERS ON A DAY OF MOURNING
At the funeral ceremony held after Friday prayers at Ankara Karşıyaka Mosque, Olcay Baykal's children Aslı Baykal and Ataç Baykal received condolences. Many prominent figures from the political sphere attended the ceremony:
- CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu
- CHP Group Chairman Özgür Özel
- Memleket Party Chairman Muharrem İnce
- DSP Chairman Önder Aksakal
- Numerous members of parliament, mayors, and representatives from various political parties.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was the first to arrive at the area where the funeral prayer was held, and shortly after, his handshake with Özgür Özel, who entered the area, drew attention. Following the prayer, Olcay Baykal's body was taken to the State Cemetery and laid to rest next to her husband Deniz Baykal, who passed away on February 11, 2023.
THE DIALOGUE THAT MARKED THE FUNERAL
A dialogue captured by Sözcü TV cameramen Emre Sercan İke and Muzaffer Adıgüzel, occurring just as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was about to get into his car in the mosque courtyard, shook the political agenda. AK Party member Savcı Sayan, standing in the back rows, extended his hand to Kılıçdaroğlu, recalling past days and expressing reproach.
Here is that striking dialogue captured on camera:
- Savcı Sayan: "Chairman, may your path be clear. You're well, aren't you? If you had listened to me the night I dropped you at home, none of this would have happened. You shouldn't have followed Önder Sav. I told you that night."
- Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: "Thank you, I appreciate it. I'm fine, very well, take care. Anyway, health is what matters..."
KILIÇDAROĞLU WAS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE SITUATION
Cameras showed Kılıçdaroğlu trying to keep the conversation brief by saying "Take care, take care" and quickly heading to his car, while his entourage also appeared uncomfortable with the situation.
20-SECOND VIDEO OPENS POLITICAL ARCHIVE
Sözcü TV Ankara Representative Aslı Kurtuluş Mutlu assessed this heated conversation, which dominated political headlines, with these words: "Savcı Sayan is referring to a conversation from the time when Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu first announced his chairmanship (2010). He reminds him that on that night when he dropped Kılıçdaroğlu at home, he told him that he should support Deniz Baykal and not act alongside the then CHP General Secretary Önder Sav. By saying 'If you had done what I said, you wouldn't be in this situation today,' he is expressing a past reproach right at the funeral of Deniz Baykal's wife. From a journalist's perspective, this 20-30 second video essentially reopened the political archive."