The mayor of Istanbul, the 53-year-old politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP), which is the largest opposition force in Turkey, is also a potential presidential candidate in 2028. Imamoglu was expected to officially head the party this Sunday and announce his candidacy for head of state.
The arrest of the opposition politician also shook the financial markets in Turkey. The lira fell to record lows against the dollar and the euro, and stocks also collapsed - the main stock exchange index Borsa Istanbul 100 fell by nearly 7%. Such a collapse had not happened in the last seven months.
Large-scale operation with about 100 detainees
The arrest came after it was announced on Tuesday that Istanbul University had canceled Imamoglu's diploma. A university diploma is a mandatory requirement for any candidate for president of Turkey.
The reason for the cancellation is that there was an allegedly illegal change of higher education institution. Imamoglu began his studies at the Eastern Mediterranean University in the Turkish part of Cyprus, but after two years he moved to Istanbul, where his family has a business. He himself says that he worked in the family business during his studies.
In addition to Imamoglu, about 100 other people were detained during the operation in Istanbul, including municipal administration employees, journalists, artists and entrepreneurs. The governor of Istanbul imposed a four-day ban on demonstrations and gatherings.
"A coup attempt against the future president"
According to the chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, the detention of İmamoğlu is "an attempted coup against the future president". "Replacing the decision of the people, suppressing and obstructing the will of the people by using power is a coup," he wrote in H. "We will not give up. In the end, the people will decide and Turkey will win."
Özel called on his 1.7 million party members to participate in the internal party elections this Sunday despite everything. The pro-Kurdish opposition party DEM also condemned the police actions, calling them an “attempted civil coup.”
“The cancellation of Imamoglu’s diploma has already shown what to expect. It is only surprising that it happened so quickly. However, history has shown that such disqualification of political opponents increases their approval. The best example is Erdogan himself,” says Aret Demirci of the Turkish office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
As mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, the current president was arrested for quoting a religious poem that was then interpreted as a threat to the secular state. As a result of this arrest, Erdogan's approval rating increased, and in 2002, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) he founded won the elections.
A thorn in Erdogan's side
The prosecutor's office accuses Ekrem İmamoğlu of leading a criminal organization. It is alleged that as mayor he manipulated public procurement and accepted bribes. He is also accused of supporting terrorism and having ties to the Kurdish terrorist organization PKK. The latter accusation is mainly related to the local elections, in which İmamoğlu's party cooperated with the pro-Kurdish DEM party in some districts of Istanbul. This alliance became a thorn in the side of the coalition led by Erdogan. In the last local elections, his party lost first place - and this happened for the first time since its founding. The Republican People's Party won in most major Turkish cities.
Who is Ekrem İmamoğlu
Ekrem İmamoğlu was born in 1970. He studied economics, then worked as a construction contractor. In the period 2002-2003, he was on the board of directors of the football team “Trabzonspor“. In 2019, he won the elections in Istanbul and ended the 25-year rule of the AKP. The results were annulled after Erdogan's party contested the results, but İmamoğlu won the re-run by a large margin. On March 31, 2024, he was re-elected as mayor.
İmamoğlu is Erdogan's most promising opponent, and for the opposition, he is a bearer of hope. He is known for his popularity among the people and his ability to mobilize people. Like Erdogan, he comes from a humble family in Turkey's conservative-nationalist Black Sea region. Since taking over Turkey's largest city, he has significantly expanded social assistance for the needy and students in Istanbul.
"Whoever rules Istanbul rules Turkey"
The 16 million-strong metropolis is the economic heart of Turkey. Over 20% of the employed work in the city on the Bosphorus. Istanbul is also responsible for 51% of Turkey's exports and 55% of imports. That is why it is often said: “Whoever rules Istanbul, rules Turkey“.
The city was also an important source of money for Erdogan's ruling party. After the AKP lost control of the city in 2019, it was accused of having financed pro-government foundations, media and religious brotherhoods with public funds during its rule, as well as of having favored companies close to the government in the awarding of public contracts.
Author: Elmaz Topcu