Latest news with #Imamoglu
The National
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Istanbul protests erupt over jailing of opposition mayor
Thousands rallied in Istanbul to mark 100 days since Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's detention on corruption charges. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters, who denounced what they see as a politically motivated crackdown on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Turkey arrests scores in opposition bastion - Region
Turkish police on Tuesday arrested more than 120 people at city hall in the opposition stronghold of Izmir, hours before a key rally in Istanbul, in the latest move targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's opponents. The early-morning arrests, part of a probe into alleged graft, came after a similar operation in opposition-run Istanbul in March that removed and jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's top challenger ahead of presidential elections in 2028. A former mayor and numerous "senior officials" were among those detained in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, which the opposition has run for years, said the deputy chairman of the opposition CHP party, Murat Bakan. In total, the Izmir public prosecutor's office has issued arrest warrants for 157 people, local media reported. "This process is similar to what happened in Istanbul," Bakan wrote on X, saying those arrested included former Izmir mayor Tunc Soyer and CHP's provincial chairman, Senol Aslanoglu. "These dawn arrests are not a legal need but are a clear political choice," he wrote, saying that many of those detained were already under investigation. "These people are in the public eye every day. If they had been called to testify, they would have done so," he said. It was the latest in a slew of legal manoeuvres targeting the CHP, which aced last year's local elections and is rising in the polls. It came hours before the CHP was to hold a rally at 1730 GMT outside Istanbul City Hall marking 100 days since the removal of Imamoglu, the party's candidate for the 2028 presidential race. Opposition under pressure The arrest of Imamoglu and hundreds of other elected officials in Istanbul sparked a wave of mass protests which spread across the country, in Turkey's worst street unrest in over a decade. In a police crackdown, nearly 2,000 people were arrested. Although the protests have tailed off, CHP has since been holding rallies across Turkey, boosting its standing in the polls. The Izmir crackdown came a day after an Ankara court began hearing a case against the CHP involving allegations of vote-buying at its 2023 leadership primary. The case could end up overturning the election of current leader Ozgur Ozel, who has become the face of the spring protests. Critics say the case is another politically motivated attempt to undermine the CHP in line with the move against Imamoglu, which the party denounced as a "coup". "No conspiracy against our party is ever unrelated to the March 19 coup," Ozel wrote on X. Monday's hearing in the CHP leadership primary case was brief, with the judge adjourning the proceedings until September 8 over a question of jurisdiction. The Izmir arrests came as firefighters continued to battle several large wildfires raging near the western resort city, which have forced the evacuation of more than 45,000 people in the area. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
DW
3 days ago
- Politics
- DW
Turkey's main opposition party CHP set for showdown – DW – 06/30/2025
The CHP's presidential candidate is in prison, and its chairman under investigation. Now, a court case is looming. Turkey's largest opposition party, the CHP, is facing a litmus test. The Turkish public has recently become familiar with a legal term that could seal the fate of the largest opposition party, the Republican People's Party, or CHP. "Mutlak butlan" means absolute nullity, referring to a situation where something is considered completely void or invalid from the beginning. This is exactly what could happen on June 30, when the trial against the CHP comes to an end. If judges in the capital, Ankara, decide to declare the 38th party congress of the CHP null and void, the party's entire reform-minded leadership would lose its legitimacy. Turkey's oldest party, which has mobilized millions of people to protest since the imprisonment of its presidential candidate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in March, would be plunged into total chaos. Following the CHP's landslide defeat in Turkey's presidential election in May 2023, there were calls for a change of leadership within the party. In particular, the self-confident Imamoglu, who defeated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's candidate three times in Istanbul, urged his party to reform. At the party congress the following November, Imamoglu supported the current party chairman Ozgur Ozel, who prevailed against long-time chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu in a vote that saw all party leaders replaced. The 76-year-old Kilicdaroglu — whom observers said had little charisma — had led the CHP for almost 14 years, losing every election against the ruling AKP party and President Erdogan. However, Kilicdaroglu's traditional nationalist wing did not accept the defeat. As a result, they filed criminal charges and claimed that the election process at the party congress in question had been conducted illegally. They also accused the reformist wing under Ozel and Imamoglu of having only won the victory by buying delegates' votes. In turn, the public prosecutor's office launched an investigation. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video To avert a negative verdict, the CHP held an unscheduled party conference this past April, during which a large majority reelected the new leadership. However, the old wing again filed criminal charges against the result. Meanwhile, Turkey's pro-government media has been trying to set the two sides against each other, claiming that the old chairman and his supporters were victims of internal party conflict. The result is a fierce dispute that has divided the party into two camps, with both sides hurling serious accusations and insults at each other. Berk Esen, a political scientist at Sabanci University in Istanbul, said Erdogan is trying to weaken and divide the CHP because of its popularity and efforts to resist the increasing repression. He told DW that the Turkish president had already used this method against three opposition parties, with success each time. Esen said Erdogan is once again stepping in the way of reform and rejuvenation in order to counteract the development of new groups of opposition voters, preferring the old, entrenched and unsuccessful opposition leaders as rivals. If the court rules against the young CHP leadership on Monday, Erdogan will be able to add another victory to his tally, he added. Legal experts don't consider the Turkish judiciary to be independent, and there has been speculation about the trail's outcome for several days. If the verdict is in favor of the current leadership, which is rather unlikely, the CHP under Ozgur Ozel can continue its course. If the judges rule against the current leadership, the party leaders and structure would lose their legitimacy. In this case, Kilicdaroglu, the former leader, could take over the party and shape the CHP according to his will. Kilicdaroglu has already said he would like to return to the party in order to prevent the appointment of a temporary administrator. Should that come to pass, said political scientist Esen, it would mean even more chaos because Kilicdaroglu would not have the support of the base. Should a temporary administrator end up assuming control of the party, Esen is convinced he would have no chance. The resistance within the party would be too great for him to be able to hold a party conference after around six weeks, as the current legal situation requires, and the current chairman Ozel and his faction would certainly emerge victorious once again. In a fourth scenario, the reformers would end up leaving the CHP and launching a new political party. However, observers have pointed out that such parties have never reached the strength of the parent party in the country's recent history, and the original parties end up weakened and ineffective. A final outcome could see the verdict postponed — a move that would further split the CHP and portray the party as an incompetent alternative that would be unable to govern a country. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The future of Turkey's largest opposition party is at stake. Since the arrest of its presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, it has been organizing large rallies twice a week. They have mobilized millions of people, even in the strongholds of the ruling AKP party. A ruling that considers the current CHP party leadership unlawful risks diverting that spotlight, with the party preoccupied with itself and its own chaos for a long time. As a result, the popular Imamoglu — Erdogan's main challenger — could be banished to political insignificance in prison, without the support of a strong opposition party.
eNCA
3 days ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Graft case piles pressure on Turkey's main opposition
A court hearing that could upend the leadership of Turkey's main opposition CHP is the latest bid to hobble the party behind a wave of spring protests that shook the government, analysts say. The hearing, which takes place on Monday at an Ankara court, could render null and void the result of a leadership primary within the Republican People's Party (CHP) in November 2023 on grounds of alleged fraud -- thereby overturning the election of leader Ozgur Ozel. In February, the Ankara public prosecutor opened an investigation into allegations of vote buying at the congress which resulted in Ozel defeating longtime incumbent Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The CHP has denied the allegations. The outcome could see several CHP figures -- including jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- facing up to three years in prison and a political ban for graft, Turkish media reported. And if the election result is cancelled, the party leadership would almost certainly revert to 76-year-old Kilicdaroglu. He was ousted five months after losing a bitterly fought presidential campaign against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that was widely seen as the most important vote in generations, leaving the party in crisis. - Taming the opposition - "This is a bid to reshape the CHP and create an opposition that is controlled by a government which is becoming more and more authoritarian," Berk Esen, a political science expert at Istanbul's Sabanci University, told AFP. "This will provoke a split within the party, putting a weak, defeated leader in charge whom the voters don't want any more," he said. Kilicdaroglu has already said he would be willing to take on the party leadership again if the court overturned the primary result, sparking uproar within the CHP. "It would be out of the question to not recognise such a verdict. Would it be better if a trustee was appointed to lead the party?" he said, also voicing his disapproval of the mass protests called by the CHP following Imamoglu's arrest and jailing in March. Widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was arrested in connection with a graft and terror probe which the CHP has denounced as groundless. He was jailed on the day that he was named CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential race, his removal sparking Turkey's worst street unrest since 2013. "I feel a deep sense of betrayal. I cannot stomach such remarks when so many people are in prison," Imamoglu said in response to Kilicdaroglu's remarks. "Kilicdaroglu is a politician who will be remembered very badly. Some accuse him of working for (Erdogan's ruling) AKP but I think it's more a case of his ambition knowing no bounds," said Esen. "He is collaborating with an authoritarian government in order to get his own power back." Following Imamoglu's arrest, Ozel went from being a relatively low-profile leader to the face of the protests, his impassioned speeches sharpening both his own image and that of the CHP, which has since held rallies across the country and is now leading the polls. According to a survey by Ank-Ar Research published last week, if an election were to be held now, the CHP would win 34.6 percent, more than five percentage points higher than the 29.4 percent for the AKP. And the government is not happy. - No more demonstrations - "From the government's perspective, it is crucial they get the CHP off the streets because Ozel is seen as dangerous," said Eren Aksoyoglu, an expert in political communication. "By contrast, Kilicdaroglu is making conciliatory noises to those in power, saying he no longer wants any demonstrations and that he is ready to negotiate a change to the constitution," he said. If he were to take over the party leadership, it would "put the CHP in a position where it was negotiating with the government rather than fighting it," agreed Esen. Observers say a more sympathetic opposition would give Erdogan much greater room for manoeuvre in the government's negotiations with the PKK after the Kurdish militants said they were ending their decades-long armed struggle. It could also help the government push through a constitutional amendment to allow Erdogan to extend his term in office beyond 2028 -- a step that would require opposition support to be voted through. "I don't think Kilicdaroglu would be able to hold on to the CHP leadership in the long term, but if the process (of leadership change) is drawn out over the course of a year, for example, that would let the government to change the constitution," said Esen. And that would spell "total disaster for the opposition", he said. In any event, Monday's hearing would likely spark "a new wave of protest, which will have economic and political consequences for the government", he added. By Burcin Gercek
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
'Bid to reshape CHP': Graft case piles pressure on Turkey's main opposition
Taming the opposition "This is a bid to reshape the CHP and create an opposition that is controlled by a government which is becoming more and more authoritarian," Berk Esen, a political science expert at Istanbul's Sabanci University, told AFP. "This will provoke a split within the party, putting a weak, defeated leader in charge whom the voters don't want any more," he said. Kilicdaroglu has already said he would be willing to take on the party leadership again if the court overturned the primary result, sparking uproar within the CHP. "It would be out of the question to not recognise such a verdict. Would it be better if a trustee was appointed to lead the party?" he said, also voicing his disapproval of the mass protests called by the CHP following Imamoglu's arrest and jailing in March. Widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was arrested in connection with a graft and terror probe which the CHP has denounced as groundless. He was jailed on the day that he was named CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential race, his removal sparking Turkey's worst street unrest since 2013. "I feel a deep sense of betrayal. I cannot stomach such remarks when so many people are in prison," Imamoglu said in response to Kilicdaroglu's remarks. "Kilicdaroglu is a politician who will be remembered very badly. Some accuse him of working for (Erdogan's ruling) AKP but I think it's more a case of his ambition knowing no bounds," said Esen. "He is collaborating with an authoritarian government in order to get his own power back." Following Imamoglu's arrest, Ozel went from being a relatively low-profile leader to the face of the protests, his impassioned speeches sharpening both his own image and that of the CHP, which has since held rallies across the country and is now leading the polls. According to a survey by Ank-Ar Research published last week, if an election were to be held now, the CHP would win 34.6 percent, more than five percentage points higher than the 29.4 percent for the AKP. And the government is not happy. No more demonstrations "From the government's perspective, it is crucial they get the CHP off the streets because Ozel is seen as dangerous," said Eren Aksoyoglu, an expert in political communication. "By contrast, Kilicdaroglu is making conciliatory noises to those in power, saying he no longer wants any demonstrations and that he is ready to negotiate a change to the constitution," he said. If he were to take over the party leadership, it would "put the CHP in a position where it was negotiating with the government rather than fighting it," agreed Esen. Observers say a more sympathetic opposition would give Erdogan much greater room for manoeuvre in the government's negotiations with the PKK after the Kurdish militants said they were ending their decades-long armed struggle. It could also help the government push through a constitutional amendment to allow Erdogan to extend his term in office beyond 2028 -- a step that would require opposition support to be voted through. "I don't think Kilicdaroglu would be able to hold on to the CHP leadership in the long term, but if the process (of leadership change) is drawn out over the course of a year, for example, that would let the government to change the constitution," said Esen. And that would spell "total disaster for the opposition", he said. In any event, Monday's hearing would likely spark "a new wave of protest, which will have economic and political consequences for the government", he added.
