Turkey’s priority must be democracy, says main opposition CHP chair

ANKARA

Today’s priority of all right and left-wing political parties should be bringing democracy to Turkey, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has said, stressing his cooperation with pro-democracy parties will continue to this end.

“Under current circumstances, right and left-wing political parties can surely elaborate the developments from their own perspective and comment about them, but today’s priority of Turkey should be bringing democracy,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told an online meeting with youth over the weekend.

Kılıçdaroğlu made this statement on a question on whether the CHP’s cooperation with the İYİ (Good) Party, a nationalist opposition right-wing party, under what they called the Nation Alliance, will continue in the future as well. The two parties had carried out a partnership during the 2019 local elections and won Turkey’s largest metropoles of Istanbul and Ankara after a 25-year rule by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessor party.

“We define this priority as to crown our republic founded on Oct. 29, 1923, with democracy,” he said, adding, “Therefore we have to bring all the pro-democracy sides together and act in unity. The reason for the existence of the Nation Alliance stems from the need for democracy.”

As some of the university students who attended the meeting have raised their concerns that they may not find adequate jobs after the graduation, Kılıçdaroğlu recalled that the Turkish constitution grants the right to labor for all the citizens and that the government policies should create employment for all.

“Production-based economic policies would help reduce unemployment, but if you prioritize consumption-based policies it will eventually increase the unemployment. Unfortunately, production has been undermined in Turkey,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.