CHP denies all allegations of İnce who has announced a new movement

* Photo: Binnur Ege Gürün Koçak - Ankara / AA

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The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has responded to Muharrem İnce's recent allegations about the party in a written statement.

Holding a press conference yesterday (August 13), CHP's former Presidential candidate Muharrem İnce has announced that he will start his "Homeland in Thousand Days Movement" on September 4.

Addressing the reporters, İnce made remarks about the Presidential campaign on June 24, 2018 and the inner-party democracy.

CLICK - Muharrem İnce announces new movement

The CHP has responded to these allegations in a written statement signed by its Communications Coordinator's Office:

Support for Presidential election campaign

Allegation: The Republican People's Party (CHP) did not give the necessary support to the Presidential Campaign for the 2018 Presidential Elections. The organizations could not get the necessary support.

In responding to this allegation, the party has shared the following figures: The financial support provided by the CHP for the 2018 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections was 82 million Turkish Lira (TRY). 27 million TRY of this budget was transferred to the organizations to be used in the Presidential Election Campaign.

Moreover, in the Presidential support campaign, a donation of 26 million TRY was raised and it was spent during the campaign. The budget allocated by the CHP for the previous election was only 16 million TRY.

Presidential candidacy

Allegation: The CHP prevented the people close to the Presidential Candidate from engaging in politics and did not nominate them.

In its response to this allegation, the party has noted that in deciding on the names to nominate in elections, the criteria is not who the related person is close to, but his or her potential to win, which is itself determined based on the surveys conducted in the run-up to the nominations.

"On the other side, including the father-in-law of the person who made this allegation, every CHP member supported by the people was nominated in the local elections as well," the CHP statement has underlined.

Flow of information on the election night

Allegation: The CHP cut its communication with the Presidential candidate and did not provide him with the flow of information.

In responding to this allegation of İnce, the CHP has said that Bülent Tezcan, the then Spokesperson for the CHP, called Muharrem İnce at 4.30 p.m. on the election day and invited him to the CHP headquarters in Ankara to follow the elections results together on the election night. "However, this invitation was not accepted by our Presidential Candidate," the CHP has noted.

According to the CHP, Onursal Adıgüzel, the then Vice Chair of the party, called Muharrem İnce one week before the elections and arranged an appointment to inform İnce about how the flow of information and the necessary coordination would function on the election night.

As indicated by the CHP, though Adıgüzel went to the hotel where İnce was staying, he was kept waiting there for almost three hours, just to be informed by İnce's security guard that he would not meet Adıgüzel.

The CHP has also argued that though the party executive recommended İnce to hold a press statement on the election night, he did not do it.

Election campaign

Allegation: The CHP promoted party Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, rather than Presidential Candidate Muharrem İnce.

In its response to this allegation, the CHP has reminded the public that the Parliamentary elections were held simultaneously with the Presidential elections in 2018. According to the CHP statement, which compares the representation of general elections and Presidential elections, the latter overwhelmed the former by 1/3 in the banners and 1/5 in the films.

Ballot boxes and the count of votes

Allegation: The CHP did not protect the ballot boxes.

In its statement, the main opposition party has indicated that "it laid claim to the ballot boxes more than in any previous election." The party has emphasized that it was done with the support of other parties forming the Nation's Alliance and non-governmental organizations.

It has argued that "thanks to the CHP's success in protecting the ballot boxes, the MPs of the party and the Nation's Alliance could be elected in several electoral districts where the parties failed in previous elections."

Referring to its polling clerks injured while they were on duty, the party has said that "the CHP kept laying claim to the ballot boxes," adding that "the data shared by the CHP after the elections were the same as the ones in the system of the Supreme Election Council (YSK)."

Attitude to Kurdish voters

Allegation: Kurdish voters were not thanked for their support.

Lastly, in responding to this allegation, the CHP has indicated that the party "thanked all of its voters without differentiating them based on their beliefs, origins or political affiliations." (AS/SD)