Facing the most serious electoral challenge in years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has initiated a crackdown on his political opponents.
Turkish police have detained Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the main political challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an intensifying crackdown against the opposition to the country’s longtime ruler.
State media said İmamoğlu’s detention on Wednesday was part of an investigation into alleged terrorism links, but the opposition described the move as a “coup attempt” and the arrest sent the nation’s markets tumbling.
The opposition Republican People’s party (CHP) had been set to name İmamoğlu, one of the country’s most popular political figures, as its presidential candidate on Sunday ahead of elections due by 2028.
The detention comes a day after the state Istanbul University cancelled İmamoğlu’s higher education degree, which would disqualify him from entering the presidential race if not overturned on appeal.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said the probe into İmamoğlu was linked to possible support from a pro-Kurdish political group for his 2024 mayoral re-election campaign.
Yeah, sure.
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In recent months, his government has embarked on a crackdown targeting politicians from left and right, journalists, academics — even an astrologer who strayed into election predictions — with hundreds of people arrested as the president’s rivals have been hobbled.
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In local elections last year, the party suffered its worst defeat since its creation more than 20 years ago. İmamoğlu secured re-election in Erdoğan’s old stronghold of Istanbul by a margin of more than 11 per cent.
This is an incredibly transparent attempt by Erdoğan to kneecap his opposition before the upcoming elections.
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