Presidential candidate Kılıçdaroğlu promises to transparently disclose where taxes are spent

Duvar English

The main opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate and Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on March 19 said that they will disclose where the taxes are spent in the Official Gazette should he assume power in the upcoming election.

“If the people in power are not accountable to the people, there is no democracy. As the Nation Alliance, we said 'we will establish a national tax council.' This council will disclose where the taxes collected from 85 million citizens was spent each year in the Official Gazette. Everyone in Turkey, from workers to retirees, will know where their tax was spent,” Kılıçdaroğlu said while speaking in the Congress for Future’s Economy organized by the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.

Kılıçdaroğlu said they will focus on strengthening four main components should he assume power.

“The first pillar is a strong democracy. A strong parliamentary system. Democracy lies at the core of the basic philosophy that brings the six leaders (of the Nation Alliance) together. No country has developed where democracy has not developed. We have to introduce the separation of powers. There is no unchecked power in any well-functioning democracy,” Kılıçdaroğlu noted.

He also said the free press is also crucial for a democracy and added that “Where there is no freedom, there is no democracy.”

“The second pillar is producing. A Turkey that produces in every aspect of life, from industry to agriculture and culture. We have resources, land, homeland, fields, mountains, good hardworking people, but they are being cut off from production. Everyone will produce. Everyone will be an important part of the production chain. Where will we produce knowledge? Universities. All kinds of ideas will be freely discussed in universities,” he said.

“We will build a strong social state as the third pillar. If you cannot build a strong social state, produce as much as you want, but if you do not share it fairly, if a part of the society is poor, there will be no peace or abundance. The existence of peace depends on the fair distribution of the created resource. We can rebuild Turkey, where no child sleeps hungry,” he added.

Lastly, Kılıçdaroğlu said the fourth pillar is sustainability. “The world is changing rapidly. You have to adapt to this change. The key to sustainability is merit in government. Are we going to keep up with the change, or are we going to lead the change? We do not want to keep up with change. One of the main keys to sustainability is education. We will also make radical changes in the education system,” he added.

After Kılıçdaroğlu, five other Nation Alliance leaders also gave speeches.

The Congress for Future’s Economy is being held 100 years after the First Economic Congress which formed the economic structure of the Turkish Republic in its formation years.

Several renowned economists and academicians from Turkey and around the world took part as the speaker in the congress, including Francis Fukuyama, Ian Goldin, Michio Kaku, Andrew McAfee, Çağlar Keyder, Şevket Pamuk, Kamil Yılmaz, Naci Görür, Selva Demiralp, Ufuk Akçiğit and so on.