Ekrem Imamogul, mayor of Istanbul and rival of President Receptacle Tayyip Erdogan in the 2028 election, was arrested on Wednesday in a move that opposition leaders were accused of as a “coup against the next president.”
Imamoguru was a few days away from the official receipt of the nomination of the presidency.
There were about 100 Imamoguru at 54 years old. target Arrested warrants Wednesday on corruption, bribery, assault and support of known terrorist groups. – Specifically, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group that Erdogan's government views as the biggest security threat to Turkey.
PKK It has been declared The ceasefire in early March was brought to a ceasefire in the promotion of co-founder Abdullah Okaran, who was imprisoned after fighting the Turkish government for more than 40 years. Erdogan and his administration may denounce the Kurdish-friendly and increasingly popular Republican Party (CHP) of Imamogul as a mouthpiece for PKK radicals.
The CHP has become Türkiye's major opposition. The party has been poised to award Imamoguru, the only candidate in the running, with the presidential nomination this Sunday.
Imamoguru I won Re-elected As mayor of Istanbul in March 2024, he took a political blow to Erdogan and his AKP party. Imamoguru ran as a political outsider in 2019, shocking Turkish politics by winning the prestigious office of the mayor of Istanbul after a quarter-century AKP rule. Before becoming president, Erdogan was one of the Mayors of AKP in Istanbul.
The AKP managed to get the 2019 election for Imamoguru, which was settled in court just 18 days after winning, claiming that there was irregularity in the vote. The election was repeated and Imamoguru won again – With a wider margin.
Many Imamogul supporters said the 2024 vote for mayor was intended as a protest against Erdogan's 22-year rule and the deterioration of the Turkish economy under his policies. Party leaders and supporters angered Imamoguru Arrest In an early morning raid as a transparent political manipulation designed to keep Erdogan in power.
Tuesday, Istanbul University Analysed Imamoglu degree was registered in forged documents in the 1990s and is believed to have graduated. Imamoguru dismissed the allegation as another absurd political trick, but his legal team argued that the board of directors of Istanbul University had no authority to override his diploma.
CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel I said The invalidation of Imamogul's diploma was a “dark smear” against the mayor of Istanbul, and his arrest on Wednesday was a “coup against the next president.”
“We are facing a great tyranny, but I want you to know that I will not be discouraged,” he said. I said In a video message posted to social media when he was taken into custody.
“It is at best presumed and inappropriate to link judicially initiated investigations and cases to the President,” retorted Justice Minister Irmaz Tank, who argued that Imamoguru's arrest was not a political manipulation.
For four days, Erdogan took precautions to ban all public gatherings and protests, limit access to social media and close several roads around Istanbul. Angry protesters still Gathered Security forces tumbled outside the police headquarters in Istanbul on Wednesday along with a control truck and water cannons from the riot.
“Imamoguru, you're not alone!” and “Government, resignation!” cried the protesters.
“In the past, it was soldiers who carried out the coup. Today, it's politicians. Foreign investors are not going to invest in Turkey anymore. Who would want to invest in a country that has no justice or the rule of law?” one Istanbul resident wondered.
After Imamoguru's arrest, Turkish stock markets and currencies fell. strike A record low of 40.96 in the US dollar.
“Recent polls have consistently shown that Imamogul will beat Erdogan in the presidential election. Imamogul's detention is born amid increasing uncertainty, rising fears in Turkey, and reinforces the growing sense between Erdogan critics and antagonists that no one is safe.”
“Erdogan is encouraged by Turkey's inauguration to Europe's security and US President Donald Trump to neutralize its domestic enemy,” the report added.
