Istanbul mayor in court: “It’s unfair”

• Nazar Mitra

  corresponding Turkey

Tomorrow the trial against the popular mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, will continue in Istanbul. The prosecutor asked for a prison sentence of at least 15 months and a ban from political activity.

Imamoglus’ crime is insulting the members of the Electoral Commission, whom he defined as “idiots” after the local elections three years ago. Critics say it is a politically motivated case designed to knock Imamoglu out of the running for national elections in June next year.

After the 2019 local elections, everything seemed to have changed in Turkey. The opposition has finally had an answer to President Erdogan: Ekrem Imamoglu, who has taken over the post of mayor of the country’s main city. With a compelling electoral campaign, he managed to convince the people of Istanbul that he would be mayor for all. For conservative and secular Turks, the eternal polarization is over.

Imamoglu is a member of the secular party CHP, the largest opposition party in Turkey. It is a party that has in the past introduced a ban on the wearing of headscarves in public places, which has left many conservative Turks out. But Imamoglu is himself a practicing Muslim, which is why he has also addressed religious Turks who otherwise would never vote for his party.

Suddenly Imamoglu became mayor of Istanbul, the largest and most important city in the country. And not only that: in the eyes of the opposition he also posed a serious threat to Erdogan’s position of power at the national level. “Whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey”, one often hears. Erdogan also said it regularly. He himself was the mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s.

The Uskudar district, on the banks of the Bosphorus on the Asian side of Istanbul, has traditionally been a strong voter for the AKP. Erdogan himself lives there, in a hilltop villa with a sweeping view of the city. It was therefore a shock that right here a few more people voted for the opposition candidate Imamoglu than for Erdogan’s mayoral candidate.

“I don’t support the party, but I voted for Imamoglu,” Nezihe said in the square in front of the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque. “And I hope to be able to vote for him again soon. I await a government that restores justice”. The criminal case against Imamoglu is known to most Turks. Even people who don’t support him politically say they think the suit has gone too far. “This shouldn’t have happened. Nowadays, such a statement shouldn’t be punished,” says a fishmonger.

When the election commission initially declared his mayoral election invalid, Imamoglu made the remark that he can now go to jail for it. “Those who canceled the March 31 election are idiots,” he told reporters. An insult to the electoral commission, claims the prosecutor. Critics say the case is nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to thwart Imamoglu.

It has not been easy for Imamoglu to govern Istanbul in different ways, says political analyst Soner Cagaptay. “It was difficult for Imamoglu to get money from the central government for important projects like subway lines, so he wasn’t able to do as much as he wanted,” he says.

And the AKP remained in the majority in the city council. “That city council made his life hell,” Cagaptay said. For example, Imamoglus’ campaign to raise funds for the less fortunate was banned by the central government during the corona pandemic. He has also tried unsuccessfully to get more cabs into town. The fact that there are not enough taxis is a great frustration for the inhabitants. That plan was also foiled.

“I voted for him myself, but I haven’t seen him do anything for us yet,” says a butcher in Uskudar. Across the shop, her colleague Fatma rolls her eyes. “Obstacles are constantly being put in his way. It’s not fair.”

According to Cagaptay, Imamoglu still has a chance. “If he can finish a few more subway lines before the election, I think he’s presidential.”

The coalition of six opposition parties has not yet presented a common candidate. Some polls show that both Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, the opposition mayor of Ankara, can beat Erdogan. Only CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who scores much lower in the polls, has indicated that he wants to run in the elections.

Tomorrow there is another hearing in the case against Mayor Imamoglu. It is not known if or when a decision will be made.