Ekinci: Government Should Resign

Ekinci also criticised problems of merit and political patronage in the public administration and discussed universal health insurance and the TDP’s priorities for the next term.

“Political responsibility was clear by the afternoon of August 30”

Ekinci said the legal process following the Filo Jet disaster should not be confused with political responsibility. He said the courts were responsible for determining criminal liability, but there was no need to wait for a court ruling to establish political responsibility.

“It is necessary to distinguish between a legal offence and political responsibility. If there has been an offence, abuse of office or misconduct in legal terms, the courts and judiciary are the mechanisms that will decide this. However, the afternoon of August 30 was enough to say that there was political responsibility,” Ekinci said.

He said political responsibility could not be discussed solely in terms of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, stressing that the chain of responsibility extended to the government as a whole and could not be eliminated through a single change of office.

Ekinci said their demand was therefore clear: the government should resign collectively.

He said society paid the price for poor governance in different ways, adding that the Filo Jet disaster represented the most devastating manifestation of that cost.

“Sometimes we pay the price with our money in our kitchens. Sometimes we pay it with our time because of bureaucratic delays. This time, we paid with our lives. Of course, we will demand accountability. Of course, we will tell those responsible: ‘Resign and take responsibility,’” he said.

“We have administrators who employ 20 people to do the work of three for 80 votes”

Ekinci said political patronage and a lack of merit were at the root of problems in the public administration, arguing that appointments made for political gain and electoral calculations had rendered the state structure dysfunctional.

“They have created such a system through partisan appointments to serve their narrow interests and gain votes that merit has become one of our most fundamental problems,” he said.

Ekinci argued that political loyalty, rather than public need and qualifications, had become the determining factor in public-sector employment.

“We have administrators who use 20 people to do the work of three and calculate that this will bring them 80 votes,” he said, criticising the current system.

He said a public administration in which qualified people could not reach positions they deserved was unsustainable, adding that he was ashamed to be part of such a system.

“First, we will rebuild trust with society”

Ekinci said the relationship of trust between the state and citizens had been seriously damaged and that rebuilding this relationship would be essential for the success of measures to be introduced in the new term.

Speaking about the healthcare system, Ekinci said the TDP’s main solution was to introduce universal health insurance.

“What needs to be done for healthcare is universal health insurance. In the coming term, we will explain universal health insurance to society more effectively,” he said.

He said the system should operate through a health fund financed by contributions from the state, employees and employers, with the aim of ensuring that citizens could access the healthcare services they needed regardless of their financial circumstances.

“The country was governed worse than ever without TDP in Parliament”

Commenting on the TDP’s election campaign, Ekinci said the party was working intensively on the ground and maintaining direct contact with citizens.

“In the four years that the TDP has been absent from Parliament, this country has been governed worse than ever. We see the hope in people’s eyes on the streets. We also feel the longing for the TDP,” he said.

Ekinci said the TDP was working to return to Parliament with a strong presence, stressing that in the new term the party would pursue a political approach that not only criticised, but also scrutinised, demanded accountability and implemented concrete policies.