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ANNOUNCEMENTS•
In Istanbul, thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against the conviction of Mayor Imamoglu. He is seen as President Erdogan’s biggest political rival. Yesterday he was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for contempt of the electoral commission.
Protesters in Istanbul stopped at City Hall and carried Turkish flags. “One day the AKP will be held accountable,” some chanted. The AKP is Erdogan’s ruling party.
Imamoglu is a member of the secular party CHP, the largest opposition party in Turkey. To everyone’s surprise, she won the mayoral election of Istanbul in 2019. As the city is seen as the cultural and economic center of Turkey, it was a painful defeat for Erdogan.
After his win, the result was initially ruled invalid. Imamoglu then replied: “Those who canceled the elections are idiots.” He said this was in response to Interior Minister Soylu, who had called him an idiot. When voting resumed, Imamoglu won by a larger margin.
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Reuters news agency spoke to a man who had traveled 200 kilometers to be at the rally: “The government is afraid, that’s why this statement is there.” Another protester says he came to “protect the rights and voices of millions of Istanbul residents”. “We are here because we want to live in a country with the rule of law.”
Imamoglu also showed up at the event. He said he feels the support of many Turks. “All 16 million people of Istanbul, our nation and our grand Turkish alliance are with me. We will change the order of power in next year’s elections.”
Imamoglu is still mayor for the moment
Imamoglu was one of the leading candidates to challenge Erdogan in next year’s presidential election. If his sentence stands, he will not be allowed to re-engage in politics, at least not while he is in prison.
Imamoglu appealed his sentence. This should take at least a year. Until then, he can remain mayor of Istanbul.
