The Six Opposition Parties, consisting of the Saadet Party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), Good (Iyi) Party, Democrat Party, Future (Gelecek) Party, Democracy and Progress (Deva) Party, held the first meeting of the new year. The meeting, which started at 12.30, took 10 hours and lasted longer than any meeting held so far. The leaders talked about the Common Policies Text, the presidential candidacy, the headscarf issue, the latest developments in the economy and the murder of Sinan Ateş. After the meeting, a 4-page statement was published to the public.
TRANSITIONAL PROCESS ROADMAP AND COMMON POLICIES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 30
In the statement shared to the public after the 10th meeting hosted by the Future Party, the leaders stated that they started with the general evaluation of 2022. In the statement, in which it was announced to the public that a democratic period has begun to eliminate the damage caused by the Presidential Government System in the state and public life, “In this context, we will see the distance we have covered in the last year, the gains we have achieved and the challenges we are facing. We evaluated the challenges in a very friendly and constructive manner. We have created a new political climate by bringing together different thoughts and approaches against the government's effort to maintain its dominance through enmity and polarization of those who think differently from itself,” the statement said. While it was noted that the previous studies strengthened this climate, it was announced that the Common Policies and the Roadmap for the Transition to the Parliamentary System, on which the opposition has been working for a long time, will be announced to the public with a joint meeting attended by the leaders on January 30th.
THE GENERAL PRESIDENTS STARTED CONSULTATION FOR THE PRESIDENT CANDIDATES
In the continuation of the declaration, which stated that the political cooperation will be completed to a large extent with the Transition Process Roadmap and the Common Policies Text, “We are also aware that the realization of this vision, which we have put forward with a one-year intensive effort, depends on two conditions. Election of our common candidate as president and in order to obtain the necessary majority for the constitution reform in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), the commission established for election security should work non-stop and focus on measures to ensure the protection of every vote in all ballot boxes, to establish a joint commission, to study alternatives that can be applied in parliamentary elections that can achieve a constitutional majority in the TBMM, and to present them to the chairpersons to make the final decision, we have decided to initiate consultations between the general presidents regarding the determination of the joint presidential candidate,” the statement added.
“THE GOVERNMENT PROVIDES THE NUMBERS THAT MELT AGAINST PURCHASING POWER AS GOOD NEWS”
It was stated that the country's economy was also discussed at the table in the text, which was called “The government, which realized that it would lose the elections, did not include it in the 2023 budget, which has not even dried yet, in a panic, and it is to show its indifference and frivolity in the state and budget management by taking changing steps within 24 hours,” the statement said. The inflation figures announced by Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) have nothing to do with real life, it was emphasized the lack of consistency. While referring to the good news announced by the government in the statement, “The government already presents the Retirement Age Victims (EYT) regulation, which is the right of the employee, and the salary increases, which make no sense in the face of the meltdown in purchasing power, as good news. It is sad, to say the least, that the government sees the new minimum wage, which will remain below the hunger limit at the end of this month, as a source of pride before it is even in the hands of the workers. These situations, together with the Presidential Government System, are the most concrete examples of arbitrariness, irregularity and collapse in public administration,” the statement added.
"NO ONE CAN TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK TO THE 70'S, 80'S AND 90'S"
In the statement, which includes a message of condolences to Sinan Ateş, the former President of the Grey Wolves (Ülkü Ocakları), who lost his life as a result of an armed attack in the past days, the statement said, “What makes this atrocity even more serious is the deep silence of the relevant authorities, including the President, Minister of Interior, Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), after the murder.” In the continuation of the statement, it was said, “No one will be able to take our country back to the darkness of the 70s, when young people from all walks of life were sacrificed, to the conditions of the coup of the 80s on September 12, and to the unsolved murders of the 90s.” In the published statement, it was stated that the society should never despair and that the 100th anniversary of the Republic will not be allowed to be tarnished by corruption, prohibitions, oppression and poverty.
“HEADSCARF TEXT SHOULD COME WITH RECONCILIATION”
The headscarf issue, which was presented to the Parliament by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was also included in the declaration. Pointing out that President Erdoğan describes the headscarf issue as a “goal pass”, the statement said, “This definition, which is offensive to women who have suffered heavy grievances from the headscarf ban, clearly reveals that Mr. Erdogan sees this issue as an election material. If the government is sincere, it should approach the proposals from the opposition without prejudice and support the publication of the texts by consensus.”