With the deadline for political parties to nominate their candidates to the Supreme Election Council set for February 20, Tuesday. The AKP's negotiations with the New Welfare Party (YRP) are entering their final days. The path for the DEM Party seems bifurcated at this stage.

The most debated party regarding candidate nominations is the CHP. This should not come as a surprise, as the CHP cannot follow a closed process like other parties with a "my way or the highway" approach.

However, this should not lead to the emergence of autonomous power centers or complicate the nomination process. It must not!

If the CHP fails to effectively manage internal democracy, parties that never practice it might say:

- Sure, we determine candidates behind closed doors, in a centralized manner, but is CHP's method any different?

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The banner of change slogans prominently featured one word:

Primary Election!

Indeed, primaries may not always yield the most favorable outcomes. Yet, the worst primary is still better than the best central list because if there's dissatisfaction with the election, the party base also introspects.

Claiming there's no time for primaries and then holding them for dozens of municipal council memberships is a contradiction. If there's no time to set up a ballot box for one person, how is there time for 40?

Let's remember that before September 12, 1980, not only in the CHP but in all parties, there were primaries.

When the most basic indicator of change does not materialize, this question arises:

- Was change stolen?

Let's ask more politely:

- Was the base's desire for change exploited?

Central appointments of candidates who do not resonate with the community or party base are a matter of debate. You cannot become a star (Turkish: yıldız) by hiring a special office in Yıldız. You become a star by creating excitement among the grassroots and the community with clear goals!

Choirs from within and outside the CHP's Central Executive Board (MYK) lead to chaos, not harmony!

With this backdrop, the office of the former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in Mustafa Kemal Neighborhood becomes a focal point of attraction and interest. The office receives an average of 70-80 visitors daily!

Kılıçdaroğlu will undoubtedly prefer to be the one who knows rather than the one known. But what about those known for their closeness to him?

In Ankara, the heart of Turkey, and Çankaya, the center of Ankara, with 25 potential candidates ranging from Bekir Ödemiş to Tezcan Karakuş Candan, and from Necati Yılmaz to Ali Haydar Hakverdi, while the current mayor Alper Taşdelen enjoys a 70% approval rate, appointing someone who hasn't even applied—how can this be explained?

Our only wish is for wisdom...

Let's leave it here!

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In the CHP, the election period has two wings:

Those preparing for success in the election and those preparing for the post-election.

The general headquarters' performance, the trust it inspires, the excitement it generates, and the results will determine which side will prevail.

The election process consists of two halves. The first half is determining the candidates, and the second half is the candidates and the party taking to the field.

Some pains in the candidate determination process can be overcome with final adjustments and a good election campaign.

That's our expectation...

2024 is the gateway to 2028.

If the expected success does not materialize, an inward turn begins again.

There's no such thing as the last exit before the bridge. A definitive exit always exists. The whole issue is to start rebuilding the Republic's institutions and rules without further damage!