The Washington Post
Turkish police arrest Istanbul’s mayor, a key
Erdogan rival
Police arrested dozens of people, including Istanbul
Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was expected to be
the opposition party’s presidential candidate.
Imamoglu, a popular politician and member of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, became mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 and won reelection last year in high-profile races where he defeated candidates from Erdogan’s ruling party. He was expected to be selected as the CHP’s candidate for president in the party’s primary elections scheduled for this weekend.
The statement from the prosecutor’s office accused Imamoglu of using his position to lead profit-making schemes, including improperly awarding contracts for government works, and also accused him of aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant Kurdish group considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and others.
Imamoglu denied the allegations against him in a video released on his X account just before his detention and said in a separate social media statement that “the will of the people cannot be silenced through intimidation or unlawful acts.” Ozgur Ozel, leader of the CHP, described the arrest as a “coup attempt against our next president.”
Some of Imamoglu’s close aides and Istanbul’s Sisli and Beylikduzu district mayors were among the arrested, according to Turkish media reports.
Gokhan Gunaydin, lawmaker and the CHP’s group deputy chairman, told The Washington Post that it was not immediately clear whether Imamoglu would be released while under investigation or kept in detention, but that the charges against him were “slanderous,” and “anyone who has a conscience” knows the arrest was politically motivated.
The Turkish lira and stock market plunged after Imamoglu’s arrest. The lira suffered a decline of more than 10 percent, while stocks fell more than 5 percent in value.
Speaking at a televised news conference, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the investigation was carried out rigorously and warned against street protests, criticizing those who used “terms such as ‘coup’” to describe the arrests. Erdogan’s communications chief, Fahrettin Altun, wrote on social media that critics were subjecting the president to a “smear campaign.”
Prosecutors have also accused Imamoglu of assisting the PKK through his alleged links to the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), an alliance of left-wing and pro-Kurdish groups. In 2024 local elections the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and the CHP reached an informal agreement where they avoided directly competing with each other in many constituencies.
Turkey’s next presidential election is scheduled for 2028, and analysts have said Erdogan may look to extend his rule then.
Access to multiple social media platforms, including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, appeared to be restricted in Turkey on Wednesday morning, according to cybersecurity monitoring group NetBlocks. Meanwhile, Istanbul’s governor issued a statement Wednesday banning demonstrations for four days, and closed major roads and several metro stations to block any potential p
Despite this, supporters of Imamoglu gathered in the streets of Istanbul, protesting near Istanbul University and clashing with police, and protesting outside the CHP headquarters in Ankara, the capital. The Istanbul city council, which was led by Imamoglu, called for a protest outside the municipal building Wednesday evening.
The latest arrests came a day after Imamoglu’s diploma was annulled by Istanbul University, which cited irregularities in Imamoglu’s transfer from a northern Cyprus university more than 30 years ago. The move could effectively block Imamoglu from running in the presidential election, as a university degree is required to compete in elections under Turkish law. The CHP called the annulment a politically motivated move, and Imamoglu is expected to challenge the decision in court.
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