SI General Coordinator Chantal Kambiwa visits Istanbul on a solidarity mission

SI General Coordinator Chantal Kambiwa visits Istanbul on a solidarity mission

The SI General Coordinator, Chantal Kambiwa, visited Istanbul today on a solidarity mission to the elected leadership of the CHP and to Ekrem İmamoğlu.

Following her meeting with the Acting Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Nuri Aslan, she made the following statement:

"I am very happy to be in Istanbul today on a solidarity visit, and I thank the Acting Mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Nuri Aslan, for a very productive exchange of views.

I wish to convey the following message on behalf of the Socialist International:

1. We once again express our full solidarity with Ekrem İmamoğlu and all the progressive mayors who are in prison without any proof of wrongdoing, for political reasons.
2. We express our full solidarity with the elected leadership of our member party, the CHP, and its leader, Özgür Özel, who are suffering the unjust consequences of this 'nullity' decision, which aims to annul the votes and decisions of all recent CHP Congresses. As the Socialist International, we participated in the recent CHP Congresses and witnessed the inclusive and participatory manner in which the party's statutes and programme were modernised in a remarkable way. We saw how decisions were taken through democratic procedures and supported by a very large majority of delegates.
3. The Socialist International is deeply concerned by the crisis affecting one of our member parties, with which we have long-standing and close relations, and we believe that the only way to resolve it is to organise an extraordinary Congress in the coming weeks.
4. A fundamental rule of democracy is the acceptance that the opposition has the right to exist and to be judged by the will of the people in all electoral processes. Democracy requires political parties that can operate freely, without any form of lawfare."