CHP Chairperson Özgür Özel Meets with Spanish Prime Minister and Socialist International President Pedro Sánchez

Chairperson of the Republican People’s Party Özgür Özel met with Spanish Prime Minister and President of the Socialist International Pedro Sánchez in Madrid ahead of the Socialist International Presidium Meeting. The meeting, which focused on bilateral relations and global political developments, lasted approximately 45 minutes.

During the meeting, Pedro Sánchez thanked Özel for his firm stance and leadership on the issue of Palestine. He emphasized the importance of building structures that bring together Socialist International and its sister parties within the Progressive Alliance, and expressed his expectation for contributions from CHP and Özel on this matter.

Sánchez also underlined the need for cooperation among sister parties to ensure election security, stating that CHP’s capacity, experience, and strong organizational structure would play a crucial role in this effort. He further highlighted the importance of establishing a think tank focused on leftist, socialist, and social democratic policies.

The Spanish Prime Minister conveyed that they closely and carefully follow the situation of political prisoners in Türkiye and CHP’s struggle for democracy, expressing his solidarity with Özel.

Özel began his remarks by thanking Pedro Sánchez for hosting the recent Socialist International meeting in Istanbul. He noted that Sánchez is admired in Türkiye both for his strong stance on Palestine as Prime Minister of Spain and for his ability to organize democratic solidarity among parties as President of the Socialist International.

Highlighting the importance of uniting the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance, Özel stressed that bringing together all democrats would significantly strengthen the defence of democracy against authoritarian policies. He reaffirmed CHP’s commitment to safeguarding free and fair elections in all countries and expressed readiness to contribute to this cause. Özel also welcomed the idea of establishing a think tank focused on progressive policies.

CHP leader Özel recalled that, regarding the March 19 coup process, the government had stated it would present all evidence within one month, but more than 200 days have passed without any evidence being produced or an indictment being written. He noted that during this period, the release of a murderer who had killed his two children in an attack against Özel, the CHP Istanbul Provincial Headquarters being surrounded by 5,000 police officers, and the appointment of a trustee in place of an elected provincial chair are among the unlawful practices that have continued to escalate. Özel emphasized the importance of democratic solidarity in the face of such pressure.