Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Saturday unveiled the party’s election manifesto, based on remedying five fundamental problems in Turkey and focusing on the economy, democracy, education, foreign policy and peace in society, the Hürriyet daily reported.
The 230-page manifesto was described by Kılıçdaroğlu in a more than one-hour-long speech.
“Today we have a historic duty. Turkey wants peace. Instead of one-man rule, Turkey wants democracy. Not a mafia state, but a just state is wanted. These elections are historic, thus this is a historic meeting,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at the JW Marriott Hotel in Ankara.
The party’s presidential candidate Muharrem İnce was also present.
The CHP has coined the slogans “The president of all of us” for the presidential campaign and “We are coming for the nation” for the parliamentary elections.
On the economy, Kılıçdaroğlu said Turkey needs to plan for the next 100 years and pledged to establish the Human Development Strategies and Information Institute where well-respected scientists will work.
He also listed projects concerning low-income wager earners, farmers and small businesses, including the implementation of a tax-free minimum wage of TL 2,200, currently TL 1,600.
The CHP manifesto includes a promise to lift visa requirement for Palestinians entering Turkey, while Kılıçdaroğlu also pledged to revoke the Mavi Marmara agreement with Israel.
“Are you afraid when talking on the phone? If you are, it’s a dictatorship; if you aren’t, it’s a democracy,” Kılıçdaroğlu stated while explaining the party’s projects to fix the country’s democracy.
Promising to revoke an ongoing state of emergency, he assured to support media freedom in the context of universal values of the press.