Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) unveiled a new vision titled "Call to the Second Century" promising "deep-rooted change" on Saturday, barely a month after the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced its own document "Century of Türkiye" to strengthen the country as it welcomes the second century of being a republic.
"I promise Türkiye will be reborn from its ashes; we will realize Atatürk’s vision," CHP Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu declared at a convention center in Istanbul as he listed his party’s ambitious goals should they come to power in the 2023 elections.
He revealed that he and his partners in the Nation Alliance, an opposition coalition consisting of five other parties alongside the CHP, were working with experts from all over the world, including Türkiye.
"Our solutions are ready," Kılıçdaroğlu assured as he outlined the alliance’s "many concrete projects," including an industrial and workforce transformation, an abundance in energy and food, and a rapid employment increase.
He claimed Türkiye was "late" to the first and second industrial revolutions but the party’s new vision will "place Türkiye in the center of the new industrial revolution."
"We have found the funds, infrastructure and human resources to realize this transformation," he said. "We will bring our people the welfare they deserve in the second century of the republic."
The opposition leader argued their fight was for "what kind of country Türkiye will be tomorrow."
"I call out to you today not as the chair of the main opposition party but as a part of the union of great power we will build. This extraordinary union will be complete when we work together with you," Kılıçdaroğlu stressed.
The CHP chair also said they reached out to Jeremy Rifkin, an American economist and social theorist championing the long-term sustainability plan, the "Third Industrial Revolution," which was formally endorsed by the European Parliament in 2007. The party turned to Rifkin for guidance in crafting a road map to replicate the transformative economic policies that he previously helped carried out in Germany and China.
According to the CHP’s new vision, the "great union" the opposition aims to build will become a permanent system and "the next administration will not be able to manipulate the economy, industry for its political agenda."
"CHP’s working policy will not fall victim to the agenda of hot politics," Kılıçdaroğlu noted.
"Let nobody worry; nothing will be the same because Türkiye will win only if we win. We are coming (into power) and Türkiye will shine like a star," he said.
CHP’s "Call to the Second Century" emerges almost as a rival to the AK Party’s document, which chairperson and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described as something "beyond a mere anniversary celebration" for Türkiye and as "a revolution that will bring democracy, development, peace and welfare to every corner of the world."
The ruling party also promised welfare for the Turkish people, asserting that their "Century of Türkiye" push would see the creation of a new constitution that would "guarantee the rule of law, pluralism, justice, equity and freedom."
Moreover, CHP’s announcement comes as the party, along with its allies, fails to express a clear stance and produce a final presidential candidate against Erdoğan while Türkiye inches closer to the next election that is expected to take place in June 2023.
The "Call to the Second Century" is considered a part of the opposition’s grander promise to return to a "Strengthened Parliamentary System" if elected. The proposed system would limit the president to a single seven-year term, require the president to sever their ties to political parties and prohibit them from joining a political after their term.