After the annulment of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu’s university diploma and the wave of detentions that followed, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) paid visits to the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, expressing their firm stance against what they described as a blatant act of injustice. Sezai Temelli, Parliamentary Group Deputy Chair of DEM Party and a member of the delegation that visited the municipality, emphasized that this was yet another assault targeting elected officials. He stated that the incident served as one more example of the judiciary becoming increasingly politicized.

In an interview with ANF, Temelli said that this was yet another attack on elected officials and the will of the people. "This attack is being carried out through the judiciary. We are once again witnessing a striking example of how deeply politicized the judiciary has become. In effect, a war has been declared, through the judiciary, on democracy, on the right to vote and be elected, and on the will of the people. We strongly condemn these recent developments. For a long time, the policy of appointing trustees has dominated politics in Turkey. This must come to an end immediately. It is absolutely unacceptable, and we will not accept it."

Urban consensus is not a crime

Temelli criticized the attempt to turn the concept of 'Urban Consensus' into a criminal accusation and said: "When you look at the recently launched investigations and the indictments being prepared, they all share a common feature: conspiracy. We are once again confronted with a judiciary that produces conspiracies, groundless, disconnected from reality, and serving narrow political interests. This is exactly what we are seeing here. The fact that our party is being implicated, or that the ‘Urban Consensus’ is being targeted, is a clear indication of how far illegality has gone. We can call it a judicial disgrace, because this concept—no matter where in the world or in what language it is used— is a positive and legitimate notion, both politically and socially. It stands against conflict and violence. A term that expresses the ability of a city to reach consensus can never be a crime. To speak of it as if it were a criminal notion, to try to manufacture a crime from it, this is truly a disgrace to the judiciary. It is the product of a degraded mindset, a degraded politics. It is completely unacceptable. And we do not accept it."

Our stance is clear

Temelli said: "Our party has always pursued transparent politics. We did not do any of this in secret, so how could it possibly be considered a crime? We openly shared everything with the public. For us, the essential principle has always been the will of the people. We said from the beginning: when people come together, when there is popular consensus, we respect it. And we did just that. This was not something done through backroom negotiations between two parties. It was not based on mutual interests or bargaining, and it is clear who acts in that way. We consulted the people and acted accordingly. It did not only happen in Istanbul. Even in places where we are the leading party, where we were certain to win, such as Van and Diyarbakır, we still went to the people, we consulted the city, and we tried to include every local dynamic and voice. So, this has always been a part of our strategic political approach. No one seems to remember, but we held primary elections to select our candidates. We did it with the people, and together we determined our candidates. We created platforms for the city to express its own will and find common ground. Therefore, this cannot, in any way, be defined as a crime. We reject that completely and our stance on this is absolutely clear."

This is a coup against democratic politics

Sezai Temelli also pointed out that they visited both the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the headquarters of the CHP and added: "We take a stand against anything that is anti-democratic, unlawful, or outside the framework of democracy.  And we will never compromise on that. What is happening now is unlawful, an anti-democratic practice, and a coup against democratic politics. Mr. Öcalan’s call is an opportunity for Turkey to democratize, to live in peace, and to create a foundation for comprehensive societal consensus. We continue to take steps in the name of democratization, in the name of peace, and in the name of building a democratic society. Let it be known: wherever there is an attack on democracy, we will be there, continuing to resist."