CHP was never willing to form coalition with AK Party, former deputy says
Former Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy İhsan Özkes on Monday said that the CHP was never willing to form a coalition with the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party). Regarding discussions on the CHP's stance on forming a coalition government with the AK Party, Özkes said that the CHP aimed to display an image in which it was willing to cooperate. However, according to Özkes, the CHP's plan was also to go to early elections and that participating in exploratory talks was only a part of the CHP's "theater acting."
"If they really did want to form a coalition, do you think they would've insisted on the 14 conditions? Even if the AK Party agreed to the conditions, the CHP would've insisted on additional conditions and acted as if it was the party that has 258 deputies and the AK Party has 131 deputies," Özkes said. The CHP, which was in favor of a coalition bloc government of itself, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), had insisted on 14 conditions and to be in charge of two critical ministries as a must in the exploratory talks.
Özkes added that the CHP was the leading actor in the HDP passing the 10 percent election threshold. Sources within the CHP had said that some members of the party assembly claimed that 4 percent of CHP supporters shifted to the HDP.
In an interview with the daily Yeni Şafak, Özkes, who is a former mufti, provided further details behind the cause of his resignation from the CHP and said the party's attitude toward his beliefs ended his journey with the CHP. The CHP, which nominated predominantly Alevi candidates to run for Parliament in the June 7 elections, most of whom were elected, has been claimed to be a reason for Özkes's resignation. It has been reported that Özkes, who resigned from the CHP 42 days after the June 7 elections, had quit due to pressure from other deputies who are Alevi.
He further claimed that the hatred and hostility against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became so widespread that many members from the party preferred the country to be invaded and be ruled that way. Underlining that there is severe political polarization within the CHP, Özkes said: "If hostility against Erdoğan is leading to sympathy toward the PKK then one must stop and think."
"If they really did want to form a coalition, do you think they would've insisted on the 14 conditions? Even if the AK Party agreed to the conditions, the CHP would've insisted on additional conditions and acted as if it was the party that has 258 deputies and the AK Party has 131 deputies," Özkes said. The CHP, which was in favor of a coalition bloc government of itself, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), had insisted on 14 conditions and to be in charge of two critical ministries as a must in the exploratory talks.
Özkes added that the CHP was the leading actor in the HDP passing the 10 percent election threshold. Sources within the CHP had said that some members of the party assembly claimed that 4 percent of CHP supporters shifted to the HDP.
In an interview with the daily Yeni Şafak, Özkes, who is a former mufti, provided further details behind the cause of his resignation from the CHP and said the party's attitude toward his beliefs ended his journey with the CHP. The CHP, which nominated predominantly Alevi candidates to run for Parliament in the June 7 elections, most of whom were elected, has been claimed to be a reason for Özkes's resignation. It has been reported that Özkes, who resigned from the CHP 42 days after the June 7 elections, had quit due to pressure from other deputies who are Alevi.
He further claimed that the hatred and hostility against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became so widespread that many members from the party preferred the country to be invaded and be ruled that way. Underlining that there is severe political polarization within the CHP, Özkes said: "If hostility against Erdoğan is leading to sympathy toward the PKK then one must stop and think."