Main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Özgür Özel on April 21 criticized the government over what he described as systemic security lapses and flawed education policies following two school shootings last week.
“We do not view these incidents solely as matters of education or security, but also social, economic and psychological crisis affecting children,” Özel said during his party’s parliamentary group meeting.
On April 15, a student opened fire at a school in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, killing a teacher and eight students. A day earlier, a former student carried out a shooting at a school in the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa.
The CHP leader noted that such incidents were not unprecedented, claiming that 45 violent episodes occurred in schools during Education Minister Yusuf Tekin’s tenure, resulting in 20 fatalities.
“We cannot view these events in isolation from Türkiye’s broader problems. The foremost task is to rescue the country from this moral decay and to rebuild a system grounded in freedom and democracy,” he said.
Özel also reiterated his earlier call to increase the number of security personnel in schools, arguing that his proposal had been ignored by the government.
Qualified personnel, trained in law and capable of carrying arms, could serve at school entrances and deter would-be assailants, he noted.
On the political front, Özel reaffirmed his party’s readiness for a by-election, intensifying pressure amid a renewed wave of legal challenges targeting municipalities governed by the CHP.
Under Turkish law, a by-election becomes mandatory if vacant parliamentary seats reach 5 percent — or 30 lawmakers. Currently, eight seats are vacant due to deaths and resignations.
While the CHP could, in theory, trigger a by-election by coordinating the resignation of at least 22 lawmakers, such a move would still require approval from parliament’s General Assembly, where the ruling alliance holds a majority.
Özel is scheduled to meet Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on April 22.
