AFP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS••Edited
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for insulting members of the Election Commission. The prosecutor had asked for a prison sentence of at least 15 months and a ban from political activity.
The court also banned Imamoglu from engaging in politics. If the ruling stands, it would mean he would have to step down as mayor, but his lawyers have said they will appeal.
Imamoglu was accused of insulting the election commission after it initially declared the elections in Istanbul invalid. He said: “Those who canceled the elections are idiots.” According to Imamoglu himself, he was responding with that remark to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who had just called him an idiot in a speech.
Critics are calling it a politically motivated case designed to eliminate Imamoglu from running for national elections next June.
Hundreds of fans on the move
Before the session, the popular mayor invited the city’s residents to go to the town hall. Hundreds of supporters gathered in front of the building to show their support.
Imamoglu is Turkish President Erdogan’s biggest political rival. In 2019, the opposition candidate managed to surprise friend and foe alike by winning the Istanbul mayoral election. The loss of Turkey’s largest city, cultural and economic hub, was a painful defeat for Erdogan, who had been mayor himself in the 1990s.
Imamoglu is a member of the secular party CHP, the largest opposition party in Turkey. Parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for June next year. For his local success, he is seen as one of the few able to beat Erdogan, but the coalition of six opposition parties has not yet presented a common candidate.
