New party statement from Özgür Özel

Özgür Özel, in his statement at the TBMM, addressed the congress process, the possibility of a new party, FETÖ and tape allegations, and rumors about Ekrem İmamoğlu...

Scraper SystemJune 03, 2026, 01:06 PM

Özel met with journalists at the TBMM the other day and answered questions. Özel responded to questions ranging from the "FETÖ" and tape allegations against him, to Kılıçdaroğlu’s MYK list and roadmap as follows: THERE ARE SUCH TENSE PERIODS (Are you worried that your immunity will be lifted?) I have been in the Parliament for years. There are such tense periods. Immunity is always discussed during those times. The Parliament’s never outdated news is the 'Indictment has arrived' news. So, I have no concern. THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD DECIDE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (How do you plan to manage this process?) The party's invalid management is playing a tandem game with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice. One tries to help the other when they are stuck. Currently, there are 804 delegate signatures for the congress demand. It is approaching a thousand. They say, 'For example, the congress cannot be held because the decision is not finalized.' The finalization of the decision depends on the Supreme Court appeal. Our lawyer was dismissed, and yesterday’s plaintiff has become today’s defendant. There are many ways. The important thing is good faith. There is great fraud consistency in the invalidity decision. The government says, 'What do I have to do with it?' If you have no connection, why does the Minister of Justice say, 'It was a great decision'? Why did the Ministry of Justice brief the court judges on this matter? We will try all ways. First, there is a Constitutional Court decision. When 50 plus one signatures are collected, it is the main will. No ban can stand before it. Based on this decision, Mr. Kemal should collect them. You try, and let the court block it. The court should not block it. We have arguments. Suppose it happens. There is the Constitutional Court route. We will exhaust all these routes. On the other hand, we applied to the Supreme Court. We expect the Supreme Court to decide as soon as possible. This deadlock can only be resolved by a Supreme Court decision. We will handle the other parts afterward. But there is a truth. Politics cannot happen against the street. So, it does not matter who says what or who sets up what trap. The street wins. Nothing happens against the street. You are zero point zero one on the street. No one can stand against this wind. NOTHING WILL COME OUT OF ANY OF THEM (Investigation on delegates...) It is as if a delegate becomes suspicious when a MASAK report is requested. Why didn’t you ask for it until yesterday? Nothing will come out of any of them. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is trying to prevent delegates from signing... What are you doing there? Unauthorized, acting on their own. They are trying to paralyze the political party. The way to paralyze political parties is to break their backbone. Our backbone is the organization. You will look at who the organization supports. Let’s not overlook Next week, who will gather the CHP group? View the news THE NEGOTIATION CHANNEL NEVER OPENED (Has the negotiation channel with Kılıçdaroğlu closed?) Unfortunately, the negotiation channel never opened. Let me tell it as it is. After Mr. Kemal’s absolute decision, he called me. He said, 'What do you say?' I said, 'What, sir?' He said, 'What should we do now?' I said, 'We need to hold a congress.' He said, 'They say you cannot.' I said, 'Sir, if you want, it can be done.' He said, 'Then okay, let the friends sit and talk, let’s do it at the most appropriate time.' I said, 'The most appropriate time is the shortest time.' At that moment, I felt like it was June 2023. Today, the reaction on the street is ten times more; and this anger both saddens and frightens me. I have never seen such anger in people’s eyes in İzmir anywhere else. Mr. Kemal did not care, he said, 'It will pass.' The holiday ended, the anger is bigger. At seven in the morning, two negotiators came with all Ankara’s pavilion loyalists. That’s why the negotiation never opened. There was no one willing to negotiate. If there is a possibility to get results through indirect intermediaries, it will be discussed. From the result, we understand the congress. THEY SHOWED A HISTORIC STANCE (Kılıçdaroğlu’s MYK list...) Four or five people did not accept the duty. They showed a historic stance. They said very important things. The list suggests desperation. You told our Shadow Cabinet, 'It is crowded, you cannot manage the party like that, this party should be managed with seven people,' and you set out to announce a seven-person MYK but announce a 19-person MYK, it means you cannot keep the people in the MYK by not making them MYK. A 19-person MYK is a sign of nervousness, not absolute loyalty, but an effort to ensure loyalty through consensus. If it increased to 19, it means there are 12 playing parts. Aircraft engineers know, before every flight, you check all parts. Mr. Kemal needs to check the parts every morning. A SECOND PARTY SHOULD ALSO BE PREPARED (At what point would you say a new party?) There is already a new party, it will be, it must be, but we thought about this disaster scenario. That is, invalidity happened, snap elections are held, or the party’s failure to hold congresses for two consecutive terms is considered a loss of eligibility to enter elections. Then if you do not have a new party, you will experience a big shock. It must be ready. This is to be used in the worst scenario. Maybe even a second new party... As you know, the Kurdish political movement always goes with two backups. A second party may need to be prepared. There is no problem with that. We will fight not by leaving the party but by struggling within the party. I know this street a little. They call me on TGRT screens. 'Your personal vote is over 30%, what are you waiting for, form a party.' What’s it to you? Because the main scenario is that we will leave, the CHP brand logo is a very important value. It will stay here. This will end here. We will go somewhere else. We will fight there differently. They suggest a new party to us. THEY HAVE NO BULLETS LEFT, THEY ARE BURNING THE BUTT (Kılıçdaroğlu’s 'FETÖ agents' expression and allegations against him...) We always hear these words. The ruling media directed these words to Mr. Kemal for years. Now the expressions have not changed. This time Mr. Kemal tells me the same things or it is implied that he means me. You know what stance we took on the night of July 15 regarding FETÖ. I said, 'It is not a theater, it is a bloody coup.' Also, FETÖ had appointed a trustee to the Lydia Canning factory. Its past is also FETÖ-related. We criticized this in Manisa. This trustee-appointed lawyer is also an AK Party provincial official, and he said to a FETÖ member’s statement, 'Put Özgür Özel’s name on it?' This statement was not prosecuted. I was not even asked a question. Because it is inconsistent from start to finish. Thank God, my greatest satisfaction is that the biggest victims of FETÖ said, 'The last person to be a FETÖ member in Turkey is Özgür Özel.' If the solution is to attribute FETÖ to Özgür Özel, they have no bullets left, they are burning the rifle’s butt. (Rumors that İmamoğlu could be expelled from the party...) He is an elected mayor. When Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested, one of the first to visit his wife was me, two hours later it was Mr. Kemal. They visited Mr. Ekrem in prison. They repeatedly told Ekrem, 'Let’s be united. Let’s exclude Mr. Özgür. Let’s be one. Let’s bring down Mr. Özgür.' They offered the party leadership to Ekrem while he was in prison. They set up a ballot box for Ekrem, and they voted. Now what happened that Ekrem became a thief? I MUST BE IN MANISA (Parliament group meetings...) 'Will there be a group meeting next week? Actually, there shouldn’t be. Because it is the anniversary of Ferdi Zeyrek’s death. I need to be in Manisa. But if this turns into a stubbornness, and if we need to show a position again, we are looking; but normally it is on June 9. I am thinking of being in Manisa on Ferdi Zeyrek’s death anniversary. We are thinking of holding a group meeting on June 16.' I GET ANGRY, I GET MAD, I FEEL NAUSEOUS (If Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu comes and holds a group meeting...) Is there such an atmosphere, opportunity, morale? The Parliament podiums are the podiums of the elected? (Allegations that there are tapes against you in Özkan Yalım’s archive...) Everyone knows there is no such thing. It was already seen in all the search and documentation. This is completely the psychological warfare methods of those who cannot cope with us. I stayed years ago at a hotel in Sivas at Özkan Yalım’s child’s circumcision, besides that, we have eaten together. Seeing these really makes me angry, mad, and nauseous. They should not expect any indictment. If they bring it tomorrow morning, I will leave it tomorrow morning. They have not known me yet.

New party statement from Özgür Özel

Özgür Özel, in his statement at the TBMM, addressed the congress process, the possibility of a new party, FETÖ and tape allegations, and rumors about Ekrem İmamoğlu...