Turkey
Protesters hold signs and shout slogans during a rally in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor in Istanbul Municipality, on March 23, 2025. Photo: Yasin Akgul/AFP
prev
next
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s main opposition Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) on Thursday nominated Istanbul’s popular sacked mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as its presidential candidate for the 2028 elections.
“The CHP Party Assembly unanimously decided that Ekrem Imamoglu will be the presidential candidate,” the opposition media outlet ANKA said.
Imamoglu, 53, was sacked from his position on Sunday following a court order on corruption charges. He is seen as the main rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming 2028 presidential race, and his arrest has triggered massive nationwide protests and unrest.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the CHP, said on Sunday that 14,850,000 people voted for Imamoglu in the party’s primary as presidential candidate.
The protests triggered a crackdown from Turkish police and security forces, who by Thursday had detained over 1,800 people, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
His arrest came days after he was detained as part of an extensive investigation into a criminal organization. Prosecutors say that 99 suspects, including Imamgolu, were involved in bribery, extortion, fraud, unlawful data acquisition, and tender rigging, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Several Western countries have condemned the sacking of Imamoglu, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Washington on Tuesday that his country is concerned about the recent crackdown on protesters in Turkey.
“The CHP Party Assembly unanimously decided that Ekrem Imamoglu will be the presidential candidate,” the opposition media outlet ANKA said.
Imamoglu, 53, was sacked from his position on Sunday following a court order on corruption charges. He is seen as the main rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming 2028 presidential race, and his arrest has triggered massive nationwide protests and unrest.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the CHP, said on Sunday that 14,850,000 people voted for Imamoglu in the party’s primary as presidential candidate.
The protests triggered a crackdown from Turkish police and security forces, who by Thursday had detained over 1,800 people, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
His arrest came days after he was detained as part of an extensive investigation into a criminal organization. Prosecutors say that 99 suspects, including Imamgolu, were involved in bribery, extortion, fraud, unlawful data acquisition, and tender rigging, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Several Western countries have condemned the sacking of Imamoglu, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Washington on Tuesday that his country is concerned about the recent crackdown on protesters in Turkey.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment