I Exercise My Right to Recall!

The existence of associations, unions, chambers, bar associations, and even political parties alone cannot be considered an indicator of a society being organized. Especially in recent years, we observe that the substance of such organizations has been hollowed out. Although they are supposed to be democratic structures, we see self-centered behaviors carried out under the guise of democracy. Is it possible for a president of an association to say, "This association cannot function without me"? Yet we have seen examples. Can a union president serve for thirty or forty years? There are many examples. Is it not the final step of unprincipled behavior for a president to circumvent the rule of a maximum of two terms by using loopholes to become a candidate three or four times? We have seen and experienced this example as well. Almost everyone questions and cannot accept that the heads of Türk-İş, the Union of Chambers of Agriculture, TESK, and the Union of Chambers of Commerce have served for years. But no one achieves any results. Why is that?

It is not possible to achieve results by merely rejecting those who have served for many years with negative expressions. As in all institutions, the quality—or rather the lack of quality—of the membership base eliminates the conditions for achieving effective results. Regardless of the organizational structure, members must first possess civic knowledge. The philosophical foundation of coming together in associations, chambers, unions, and political parties must be learned. Members must have sufficient knowledge of the constitution, laws, bylaws, articles of association, and similar regulations to be able to serve as administrators. Associations and similar bodies should be valued too much to be entrusted to a single president.

General assemblies delegate tasks to the board of directors, and boards of directors delegate to the president, creating an environment of submission to the dominance of a single person. There is only one way to prevent this: education. Shouldn't everyone read Atatürk's book "Civic Information" not once but several times? What does citizen mean? What should we understand by nation, republic, freedom, constitution, parliament, election, law, regulation, and judiciary? For everyone to grasp these concepts at an equal level, continuous theoretical and practical education must be provided from primary school to university, so that we have a common understanding in similar situations.

We see many people, especially journalists and politicians without any legal background, expressing opinions on nullity. People who have never heard of the hierarchy of norms make pronouncements about the constitution and laws. We experience the difficulties of having opinions without knowledge. Therefore, all these discussions remain in a vicious cycle. The way out of this cycle is not to avoid responsibility by leaving it to one person, but to take responsibility and educate members at all levels of organizational structures. It is naive to think that this demand for education will come from above. The base must have a clear desire, effort, and pressure to equip itself.

It is mandatory for every member to know the party bylaws. Members learning all the articles of the bylaws of unions, associations, chambers, bar associations, and political parties, along with their philosophical foundation, will elevate the organization. We must move from "the president knows everything" to "we decide everything." In short, we must have knowledge. If the members of a political party had knowledge, would we have encountered this nullity lawsuit? Would a party's parliamentary group split into two or three? If party members had determined the members of parliament, and voters had elected them, would there be those who submit to a single person? Could mayors and council members change parties? A member of parliament who stands by someone appointed by appointment is telling the voter, "You did not elect me; the chairman appointed me."

Although not in our laws, I exercise my right to recall against those elected as members of parliament, mayors, and council members from the party I voted for. I demand that the right to recall be included in the Political Parties Law and election laws. I want members of parliament and mayors who are truly determined by party members to serve and be elected. I expect regulations that will cause the dismissal of the presidency and parliamentary membership of those who change parties. And immediately.