Political parties in our country are afraid of the convention process. For years, they have been trying to bring democracy to our country with a backward delegate system, without a proper internal democracy, and trying to adapt democracy to their original structures without developing themselves with this understanding. They try to keep the updated democracy representative instead of direct and participatory. Applying democracy, which has developed step by step from Athens and Pericles to the present day, brings with it the fear of losing their seats.
In democracies, it is ensured that the same faces remain in the governments with a single candidate or list method, top-down, elite delegation; without using the advanced technology of the age, without caring about participation. The era changes, but our parties cannot produce a new idea, a method and a solution in line with the demands of the day. This is why the expression ”one-eyed king in the land of the blind” exists in western societies. With an understanding that has insufficient ideological development, that does not recognize the equality of start-ups, that is incompatible with innovation and that does not produce ideas, one cannot go beyond a medieval “democracy”.
Starts at home
Democracy must start with our own lives, our homes and our immediate surroundings. In the history of democracy, a democratic structure must be established in a manner befitting the 21st century, not on the basis of superiority granted to the ’rich’, ‘nobility’ or ‘men only’, but on the basis of equality and the right to participate in all decision-making processes for everyone who is a human being and has citizenship rights. The understanding that gave women the right to vote and be elected at the beginning of the 20th century, today, with an understanding of delegate hunting and democracy in appearance, obliges all our political structures to an American-like leadership sultanate. Tolerance and love are being replaced by antagonism and harsh hierarchical structures, macho and arabesque culture and monotony. Stories of domestic violence, femicides, child molestation divide life into opposing camps, polluting us and our future generations...
We don't want to live in a dirty world. We have to leave our children a clean ‘tomorrow’ where they will be happy. A clean society, a clean environment, a clean business world, a safe future, a livable world can only be realized with a democratic structure that meets the requirements of the age.
We want to see democracy in the village, in the neighborhood, in shopping, in public transport, in the cinema, on the street, in every aspect of life; at home, at work, at school, in community institutions, we want to see smiling faces, smiling hearts that respect themselves, that embrace tolerance, that love human beings in their whole nature. We do not want the democracy of our representatives, we want participatory and direct democracy, where we have the right to express our opinions as human beings and individuals, where everyone can participate equally, where we can even withdraw our vote, where we can participate in decision-making processes, where we can communicate our decision wherever we are in the world via cell phone, like Denmark or Spain. We will not swallow antidemocratic American models as democracy.
We want democracy in every field; for example, in almost every major change in the village, in the city, we want to be asked with the techniques of our time. Metro, tram, metrobus? Square meters of green, recreational space per capita or concrete skyscrapers? Bridges or tunnels? Why can't we dismiss the mayor, council member, mukhtar with our votes? Why shouldn't we be directly asked our preference in determining the air, water, soil, education and security, and the appearance of our environment?
Democracy, which needs to be updated in our parties first of all, the voting format, the options offered, the merit standard, the ideological formation can now be decided by all participants in the world. Unfortunately, 20th century methods are still used in our country. What have the parties and local organizations been able to demand for their own cities, their own lives, their own forms of governance? We do not hear a demand. These congresses are not about issues, but about ‘men’. At least two opinions do not compete in party congresses. Our opinion does not matter. Which man, which team we support is considered important. What do we think for our city, our country, our future? We cannot take a joint decision. Being “manist” dominates politics. We create dictatorships under leaders, vertical organizations and hierarchies instead of horizontal ones.
As a social democratic party, the situation is no different in CHP. No provincial congress makes a special demand for its own region. As if there are no specific problems. We are practicing not the democracy of the age, but the democracy of a century ago, in a backward way. However, parties are also schools of education. They are schools of education for democracy. We don't expect to see this kind of development and modernization in other parties, but we know that “Turkey will not have spring until the dove falls on the CHP.”
“Either you will be free-willed congress delegates or you will be door servants!” said Bülent Ecevit on his way to the 1972 CHP congress. Modern democracy (half a century later) now gives that free will not only to the delegates, but to all members, voting by internal referendum with advanced technology. No internal elections are democratic. The general elections in the country are like a broken ballot paper, always pointing north with a software program that can be manipulated. (If you have the key, you can change every software program. This is why democratic countries have abandoned digital counting in order to make the elections fair.) Both in the internal elections of the parties and in the general elections, elections and counting are carried out with methods that do not comply with democracy. Unsealed votes are considered valid in violation of the electoral law. It is always a crap shoot with rigged dice. Not only when electing a chairman, writing a program, drafting bylaws, amending the Constitution...
Then we sell democracy to our people. We explain that we can touch an elephant, as the blind define it.
May our production give light to our tomorrow and hope to our future.
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