How Did CHP Win?
CHP's Strategy: "The goal will be to win the nation. Scientific methods and measurement and evaluation will be used to win. Emphasis will be placed on dialogue with women and young people. The old and the new will be pitted against each other, emphasising that the CHP represents change and the AKP represents the established order."
The elections are over. A single message came out of the ballot boxes. Voters showed their yellow card to the government less than a year after the general elections. Every election has a winner and a loser. In local elections, there are usually winners and losers according to the presidency, province and district, but this time there were also winners and losers in general politics. The winner of the election was the CHP. Because it came out as the first party in the election by ending an electoral superiority of the government for 22 years.
In this article, I will try to find the answer to the question of how the CHP won and try to get the answer from the most authorised mouth of the CHP, that is, from the mouth of the President Özgür Özel. For this purpose, I will share the statements he made after the election.
Özgür Özel said that during the election process, they did many right things together and avoided some mistakes and that they based the CHP's election strategy on 4 pillars. Let's start here. What were these? In his own words;
1. If the state and the nation compete, the nation wins.
2. We used scientific methods and measurement and evaluation to win.
3. We targeted women and young people.
4. The old and the new competed, we represented change and AKP represented the established order.
Let's unpack these strategies step by step:
Özel says that the AKP tried to put pressure on the voters, that is, the nation, by using all the means of the state, such as the Anadolu Agency, TRT, the media it controls, ministers, governors and even garrison commanders, and that this was a mistake. He exemplifies this with the elections of 1950, 1983, 1989 and even 2002.
Özgür Özel states that since it was Atatürk's will to work with scientific methods, they conducted analyses for measurement and evaluation during both the nomination and the campaign process, and that they constantly follow the field with surveys and keep the pulse of the voters.
Emphasising that they attach special importance to young people and women, Özel gives the example of Izmir and says that if a revolution is to start in the second century of the Republic, they have started this revolution from Izmir and that they have achieved results by increasing the proportion of candidates for young people and women 3 times in Izmir. He says that while the majority of young people had already packed their suitcases in their minds, he called on them to "young people, don't go, come and vote".
Özel says that they represent change, whereas the AKP represents the established order, the status quo, and that we heard the voice of the street. In this context, he states that the AKP, which takes refuge in the official discourse, has lost its dynamism, while they prioritise the needs of the nation with a revolutionary, change-oriented discourse, stand by the nation and speak the language of the nation.
We have summarised the four pillars. Özel also has other messages:
- Left parties should not have a strong leader who does everything. It is the organisation that wins.
- We lost 14-28 May. The general election was lost due to the collective and individual mistakes of the table of 6.
- Power exists in every form of government. What makes a country democratic is the existence and power of the opposition.
-Cities compete in the world, not countries. Local governments are an opportunity.
Lastly, let's briefly share Özel's thoughts on current political debates and the future:
- We have a serious objection to trusteeship.
- There was theft of national will in Balıkesir and Eskişehir.
- The Constitution is a consensus text. Constitutional amendments cannot be negotiated with those who do not comply with the Constitution.
- We will not favour those who are at fault in local administrations.
- We will supervise our municipalities. We are establishing a Local Governments Training, Coordination and Audit Presidency at the Headquarters. We will implement standard projects that have been implemented in municipalities and have been successful.
- Regarding Atatürk, I especially want Samsun and Gaziantep.
- Pensioners, let's seek your rights together.
In conclusion, Özel says that they are aware that the nation has given them an "investment" loan until 2028, that they will not waste it, and that they will appear before the nation in 2028 without being ashamed, and that "we are just getting started".
