Özel vows to end income inequality if CHP wins power

ISTANBUL

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel has pledged to fight income inequality if the main opposition party comes to power.

“This corruption is stealing citizens' jobs and food. Türkiye is leading Europe in poverty and income inequality,” Özel said on Aug. 6 during a rally in Istanbul’s Tuzla district.

The event was one in a series of rallies organized by the CHP to demand early elections following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23, the same day he was named the party’s presidential candidate for the next elections.

“The minimum wage is 22,100 liras. The lowest pension is 16,800 liras... But rents in Tuzla are 25-30,000 lira,” Özel said. “This regime, which tells this nation to either starve at home or eat their fill and stay on the streets, has now become a burden to this country.”

Özel said the country has more jobless citizens than the entire European Union combined.

"As I offer my appreciation, thanks and gratitude to those who filled these squares, I say this: There is only one way to get rid of all this and bring smiles to the faces of this country. We will change this government," he said.

"We will do that... by filling the squares, by filling the streets, without fear, shoulder to shoulder, drawing strength from each other. Because we are right."

In his speech, Özel also addressed the case of jailed Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, who was sent back to prison after a second medical evaluation.

"They attempt against his life by keeping him under stress and preventing him from accessing proper nutrition," Özel said.

Çalık, arrested on March 23 in a corruption probe, had previously undergone cancer treatment twice. He had been hospitalized in İzmir since July 18.

Transferred from Istanbul to the western city on June 4, Çalık’s health reportedly deteriorated during this period, prompting an angiogram.

The hospital that performed his surgery had earlier issued a report recommending he serve his sentence at home due to his medical condition.