Response from CHP's Emre to claims of a new party under Özgür Özel's leadership

CHP Istanbul Deputy Zeynel Emre stated at a press conference in the Parliament that during their meeting chaired by CHP Group Chairman Özgür Özel, they made evaluations regarding their agenda, party, and roadmaps. Emre detailed the recent developments within the party and Özel's visit program. Additionally, he clarified the claims that a new party would be established under Özgür Özel's leadership. Emre stated that these claims were unfounded, emphasizing that their priority was the elimination of current unlawfulness. He also made important statements regarding intra-party democracy and the congress process.

Recalling the statement made by CHP Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Müslim Sarı after the Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting held yesterday, Emre said that the provincial chairs, provincial executives, and provincial disciplinary boards in 26 provinces were dismissed, 7 provincial chairs were referred directly to discipline with a precautionary request for definite expulsion, and new provincial chairs were appointed in 6 provinces. Characterizing these decisions as anti-democratic, Emre stated, "They dismissed 26 elected provincial chairs in an anti-democratic manner. There is nothing for which these 26 provincial chairs can be accused of in terms of party law." Furthermore, Emre criticized the appointments made by the General Center in place of those dismissed in some provinces, claiming that the General Center could not find anyone to offer the provincial chairmanship in various provinces.

Stating that CHP Group Chairman Özgür Özel will attend the commemoration ceremony for those who lost their lives in the events that broke out at the former Madımak Hotel on 2 Temmuz 1993 in Sivas tomorrow as part of his visits to different regions of Turkey, Emre said that Özel will go to Kastamonu on Friday, Zonguldak on Saturday, and on Sunday, he will visit Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was removed from his duty as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor due to a corruption investigation against him, as well as some prisoners in jail. Emre emphasized the importance of the NATO Leaders Summit to be held in Ankara on 7-8 Temmuz, stating, "Undoubtedly, NATO convening in the Republic of Turkey is an important threshold for Turkey. It is a good message to be given to the world. In this respect, we will be closely following this meeting."

Criticizing the government's economic policies, Emre argued that the minimum wage urgently needs to be updated, taking into account the inflation rate and the hunger threshold. Responding to journalists' questions, upon being reminded of the claims that "a new party will be established under Özgür Özel's leadership," Emre stated that the events experienced went down in history as a dark stain on Turkish democracy. Emre used the following expressions: "The compensation for this is truly very important not only for us but for the democracy of our country, the rule of law, and the reliability of the Court of Cassation, which will make the decision from now on. The Court of Cassation must make a decision as soon as possible. There is nothing to wait for here." Additionally, he said that an extraordinary congress is mandatory if more than half of the congress delegates sign, and that the process is approaching the end of the waiting periods.

In response to the question, "Considering that the party you are planning to establish will also give a message to society, what kind of image do you have in mind regarding the name?", Emre stated that they have not discussed any name so far. Explaining that they evaluated the results of 3 separate field researches in their meeting chaired by Özel, Emre said, "It is very clear from there that the CHP voters who vote for us are with us and supporting us with a rate of over 90 percent, and they want the CHP under Mr. Özgür Özel's leadership. If there is no CHP under Özgür Özel's leadership, if that place remains in this state under occupation, in a null and void manner, they want another party under Özgür Özel's leadership. We see that both options are the leading party." Emre emphasized that they would proceed in a manner consistent with this picture.