CHP vows struggle for democracy, better economy

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has vowed for a big struggle against the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) rule in the name of democracy and the development of Turkey, slamming the new presidential model for turning the Republic of Turkey into a “one-man regime.”

“We are preparing for Turkey’s fourth revolution. If we are true advocates of democracy, then we should work to introduce the principle of the separation of powers. We should bring about a governance that delivers the needs of the people and not one that oppresses and terrorizes,” said CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in a speech he delivered on the 95th anniversary of the CHP on Sept. 9 in Ankara.

“We should struggle for this whatever the cost. Talks on what the governance system looks like are empty. We are under a one-man regime,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

Turkey shifted its governance model from a parliamentary system to a presidential system through the June 24 elections in which AKP chair President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won with the support of 52 percent of the Turkish people.

Kılıçdaroğlu outlined that all one-man regimes in the world have common qualifications that include the control of the judiciary and the media as well all other state organizations, which should be impartial and serve the common interest of the people.

“In the last 10 years, we have observed a speedy slide towards a ruling dynasty,” he said.

“We should abolish this one-man regime. We will do it with our republican spirit. The CHP will fulfill its mission when we will be able to crown our republic with democracy,” he said.

“This job has been lain on the shoulders of the CHP,” he said.

One important objective of the CHP is to reintroduce judicial independence, a principle that has been severely damaged under AKP rule.

“Everyone is equal before the law. We will remove all undemocratic items from our legal system. We support democracy, not just for one segment of the society but for 81 million people. Before the elections, they had tried to prevent a political party from running in the polls, but we transferred 15 lawmakers to them so they could run in the elections,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, recalling his party’s support to the newly founded İYİ (Good) Party.

Proposals to avoid economic crisis

Also addressing the current economic turbulence and continued plunge of the Turkish Lira, Kılıçdaroğlu said the only one responsible in the last decade for this economic downgrade was the Erdoğan government.

“They have collected billions of liras in taxes from the people. It was not sufficient. They have privatized all state corporations for nothing. The money they collected was not sufficient either. They have sold Telekom. The new owners have left Turkey leaving Telekom in deep debt. We will file a criminal complaint on this sale by the way. The government has put Turkey into a massive debt after they received billions of dollars in loans from abroad over the years,” he said.

“How can Turkey get rid of this situation? We have 13 proposals,” the CHP leader said.

Meritocracy and the rule of law are immediate principles Turkey should adopt with a fully independent Central Bank and other state agencies, Kılıçdaroğlu said, also suggesting transparency in public tenders. Rational economic management stipulating a budgetary discipline and canceling dollar-based public tenders should also prevail, he said.

“One thing I have long been asking; is the currency of this country [United States] dollars? Are we earning in dollars? No. So, why have our public tenders, the ones for the construction of highways, bridges, etc., been held in U.S. dollars? I will tell you why. Because these tenders were directly given to pro-government businesspeople. Mr. Erdoğan, I say this very openly. You are the man of U.S. dollar barons,” the CHP leader said.