İnce: I will be presidential candidate again

The CHP’s presidential candidate Muharrem İnce has spoken on television for the first time since the 24 June elections. There follow highlights from İnce 's remarks:

 “I was candidate because my name was ahead in the polls. It was contrary to mathematics to contest the first round with an umbrella candidate.

 Statement of support

 I have not the slightest complaint about his excellency the General Chair. He called and inquired after me. He put in very serious work and knocked himself out. The organisation worked hard. There were one or two irritations. I got sufficient material support. The donations were all spent.

 Campaign process

 There were many young people in attendance. It was an extraordinary campaign. They voted for me, there is no trouble there. We achieved a breakthrough. After 41 years we crossed the 30% threshold.

 “This business will not be over unless I say so”

 This business will not be over unless I say so. There is a preparatory process. We must embark prepared on the upcoming election.

 “I carried the epaulette debate on too long”

 I know what our mistakes were. I carried the epaulette debate on too long. I should have held more rallies. I did not expend my entire energy. It could have been different if I had had a further twenty days’ time.

 The events of that evening

 I came by road after having voted on that day. We said that this election would go into a second round. I had taken off my party badge and I said it would not be correct for me to watch from headquarters. I would need to make a speech. I would have asked for votes from other parties in the second round. We rented a floor of a hotel. A floor that only my family and the colleagues assisting me would have access to.

 Why did he go the Supreme Election Council at 17.00?

I went at 17.00 to gauge the distance between the hotel and Supreme Election Council. It took seven minutes. Our colleagues at the Supreme Election Council said there were no problems with the decisions that had been taken. Why was I to summon the people?

 “Let us push our logic a bit to the limit”

 There was information that the Supreme Election Council was giving the TV stations and parties, and there was information coming from the party. Engin Altay was following the information coming from the party. This was his task. At that time, there was talk of Muharrem İnce having been kidnapped. Nobody threatened me. Let us push our logic a bit to the limit. I gave this nation a promise. I will never tell a lie. Yaşar Tüzün came and said, ‘There are crazy allegations. How about you make a speech?’ Altay said, ‘Let us wait for the Supreme Election Council and the results.’ At that time nobody else had made a comment.

 İsmail Küçükkaya explanation

 Had I known there were these rumours on social media I would have made a statement. I listened to Altay. A person who is a candidate should listen to their colleagues. I erred there and sent a message to my journalist friend. The mistake was mine, not İsmail's. There was no game at the Supreme Election Council.

 Can such a thing happen to a 54-year-old presidential candidate in the company of his family, daughter-in-law of nine months and party colleagues? Could I have been unable to leave? I will tell you what my circumstances were like. There were papers and televisions in front of me, a brand-new phone in my hand and the TV stations were on. They are pouring scorn on our efforts.

 It was past two in the morning when we left there. The Supreme Election Council had not yet made an announcement. Yaşar Tüzün warned me, but I paid no heed. No race finishes. I saw that the situation was not promising. This race was not a fair race. We held rallies in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The Turkish Broadcasting Corporation did not give a minute’s coverage. Did we contest the election? Yes. We must accept the result. This means that we must prepare once more. The thing that gives me most hope is that in 50 days we achieved what we had been unable to do in 41 years.

 I congratulated Erdoğan

 I called Erdoğan on 25 June and congratulated him. There were people from our crowd who asked why I congratulated him. 26 million people voted for Erdoğan. I want to convince them. If those people elected somebody, I will congratulate that person. I said something that pained me to Erdoğan. I said, “I do not find this to be correct.” And he said, “I am not aware of this.”

 “I will be presidential candidate again”

 God permitting, I will be presidential candidate again. I stand by my visit to Demirtaş. I regard politics in a principled sense. I think we set up a sound political strategy. We spoke about the issues of religion and mother-tongue education. I think we kept up the language of peace.

 Who was in İnce’s team?

 There were a great many people. There were my friends and pals. The last provincial governor I spoke to in Yalova. What Abdülkadir Selvi imparted is incorrect. He could have called and asked. There were eleven professors and one general. I cannot announce their names. How am I to give the names of those who aided me in such an environment?

 Claims of stolen votes

 It would have gone into a second round if it went down to 49.9%. You were going to win in the second round, is that so? We were unable to pull it off. Was I not sad? I was. This is how democracy works. How many ballot boxes were there no observers at? There was not a reliable election at all ballot boxes. But, we have no right to complain. There is another election in the offing. It will not be five years until the presidential election.

 Like a tradesmen’s restaurant

 Have you not seen how many lira the dollar has come to? Do you not see Turkey’s state? Turkey is like a tradesmen’s restaurant. A former minister’s daughter, a friend’s son and the son-in-law at the cash desk. There are waiters at tradesmen’s restaurants and either the daughter-in-law or son-in-law or the son or daughter sit at the cash desk. The son-in-law sits next to the cash. It will not last five years. The party that has been cast out of politics with the announcing of this cabinet is the AK Party. The AK Party has been cast out of politics. Look at the Cabinet. The AK Party is absent there. Success cannot come from this, because – let us start with the most praised person, the Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk. Does Ziya Selçuk know this business? He does. I believe he does. Does he have any chance of success? Never. Why not? He will be unable to select even his own assistants and general directors. There are committees, there are offices, there are various things. You will see that he will be unable to do anything.

I do not think that National Education Minister Ziya Selçuk can succeed even if he knows the job well.

 Tezcan’s comments

 If only Tezcan had told us, too, that it was heading for a second round. There was no information flow from the party to me. Party administrator’s will give account for this. There was a failure in the information flow.

 Koray Aydın’s statement

 This is an attempt to jostle in. You will not look for excuses. If only you, too, had held rallies. They fell in popularity after I had been announced. Had I been announced fourteen days earlier, I would have got round 81 provinces.

 What happened at the dinner with Kılıçdaroğlu?

 I am not a seeker of office. Getting off the plane, I saw that I had been called on the phone we use between us. We spoke of having dinner and I also called my wife. A journalist called me at 16.00 asking where we were going to dine. He had not yet been invited at that time. It was a huge table. It was impossible to thump the table, or anything. It was in a private room. I imagine it was chosen there so that photographs would not be taken. This dinner was a political dinner. Whatever anyone apart from the four people who were there says, they are lying. He also spoke about Kılıçdaroğlu's son’s wedding. All republican forces must be restructured. They are currently in the position of being highly paid civil servants.

 “What did he say when you proposed honorary chairship to Kılıçdaroğlu?”

 To the question, ‘What did he say when you proposed honorary chairship to Kılıçdaroğlu?’ İnce remarked, “He smiled. He said he would conduct a survey into the election results and we would speak again once the survey was finished.’

 We must undergo renewal. We must make one million young people members. We must refresh our ranks. I said, ‘I do not want to compete against you. Make me general chair and let us start the rallies.’ Kılıçdaroğlu is not somebody given to banging on tables. The bodyguards were outside. That is why I raised it. We spoke about various political things. It is the nation’s right to learn of this. We should have informed the press of it. Had it been me, that is what I would have done.

 “I will not reply to the question, ‘What if Kılıçdaroğlu had been candidate?’”

 The CHP has structural problems and this must be solved. Let us make a comprehensive change to the way we go about administration. We cannot solve our problems for as long as members have no voice. I will not reply to the question, ‘What if Kılıçdaroğlu had been candidate?’

 “Is the CHP’s rulebook not a single-man rulebook?”

 There was a groundswell. This is as much as happened in fifty days. It is preparation for victory. Is the CHP’s rulebook not a single-man rulebook? The rule book must change.

 Comment about a new party

 Pay heed to what comes out of my mouth. I will not set up a new party. Have you heard such a thing from my mouth? I have no such thing on my mind. I will decline candidacy for Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor. Mr Altay is an Istanbul MP. He can be a candidate if it is put up for the vote. If you ask me, there are 200,000 members. This should be put up to the vote by members.

 I believe in this so much

 I am the CHP’s presidential candidate. There must be fresh preparations and there must be no growing disheartened. We have moved upward with the momentum after setting out on the road on 4 May. In the rally grounds, we bonded and spoke of the future and young people got the message. I believe in this so much and success will not be elusive. Given a hundred days, I believe there can be good preparation, the ballot boxes can be made well and truly ready and it can be done by correcting mistakes through polls. Young people under eighteen have intense interest.

 There is regime change

 There is a regime change in Turkey. What is it that political parties aspire to? To govern the country. What a political general chair should naturally be is to be president. I want the job of president.

 Let us find fresh new discourse and let young people become involved. Let mayors and members of parliament be selected through the ballot box.

 Will he stand for general chair?

 I think the organisation will collect signatures, but I will not do so. You cannot get stubborn with the people. I will not lead the way. If they tell me to come out in front of them and march, I am up for it.

 Have delegates promised him signatures?

 I see that things are boiling up in the base. I think it will happen in the days to come thanks to the colleagues.

 Message to Engin Altay on a live broadcast

 Engin Altay has indicated that he sent a message to Didem Arslan Yılmaz and said, ‘İnce was brought up with party culture.’ For as long as this rulebook of the party is in place, the CHP has no right to speak about democracy. This rulebook must change. New candidates must appear in front of the people and say, ‘We have seen our errors.’ I am not going to force anybody. The moment we have changed ourselves we will speak of Turkey. These staff have led to this state and these staff must go.

 “There is no meritocracy in the CHP”

 There is no meritocracy in the CHP. We must break this circle. They do not know how their fates are determined. They are hanging by a cotton thread. The party would fall below twenty were it not for them. I am not satisfied with this arrangement. We must involve the organisation in the business. 1200 people will determine our fate.

 CHP badge comment

 I am a CHP member and am still wearing the Turkey badge. The delegates can change their minds. This can always happen. I trust them. If I make a mistake one day, I can say I got it wrong there. We must find a common mind and a common good. If we broke into the 30% band, this is because we changed our rhetoric.

 Question about Yılmaz Özdil

 Let us finally close this matter.

 “Tribe, not a cabinet”

 Erdoğan has excluded his own party. It is a tribe, not a cabinet. Whatever fight you are now going to wage in parliament you will explain it in the street.

 Will İnce be an independent candidate?

 I have no way of knowing. I will not abandon this race. I can say this as of now.

 Gülen’s extradition

 I still stand by the claim about Gülen.

 “This is where we came in fifty days. Where will we go in five hundred days?”

 They said, ‘Success escaped us but you taught us to smile.’ This was very much to my liking. There is never hopelessness. Victory is preparing yourself again. This is where we came in fifty days. Where will we go in five hundred days? Baykal is our master. He brought me out before our nation when I was in front of students with chalk in my hand. I went to Baykal and kissed his hand after becoming a candidate. I got his blessing. He said, ‘I would have liked to accompany you downstairs but circumstances do not permit.’”

 İnce: Yeniden cumhurbaşkanı adayı olacağım