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Detained Erdogan challenger secures presidential nomination
(MENAFN) Ekrem Imamoglu, the imprisoned former mayor of Istanbul and a key political challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has officially been named the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate for the 2028 presidential election, the party announced on Sunday.
CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel revealed that nearly 15 million people participated in the party’s primaries, overwhelmingly supporting Imamoglu’s candidacy despite his recent arrest.
“The number of votes Mr. Ekrem Imamoglu received from our members and the solidarity ballot box is over 14.8 million,” Ozel stated during a rally in Istanbul.
Imamoglu was formally arrested and suspended from his mayoral position just hours before the vote. He was detained on Wednesday as part of a large-scale corruption investigation and now faces charges of extortion, bribery, and alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Türkiye classifies as a terrorist organization. Imamoglu has denied all allegations against him.
The CHP has condemned his arrest as a politically motivated move designed to eliminate Erdogan’s main opponent ahead of the next election. In response, the party organized internal primaries across the country, allowing both party members and the general public to cast votes through “solidarity ballot boxes.” Ozel described the turnout as overwhelming, noting that voting hours had to be extended and additional ballots printed.
“You saw it. There weren’t enough ballots, not enough envelopes, not enough hours to vote,” Ozel said, calling the result “the strongest response” to what the CHP claims is an attempt to silence Imamoglu.
Declaring Imamoglu’s nomination official, Ozel urged Erdogan to call early elections, arguing that Sunday’s vote “challenged [Erdogan’s] legitimacy” and made early presidential elections “inevitable.” A CHP spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Monday that Imamoglu will be the party’s official candidate in the 2028 presidential race.
His arrest has sparked mass protests across Türkiye, with demonstrations erupting in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. Riot police have clashed with protesters, using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Authorities have confirmed the detention of more than 300 people as of Sunday morning, while footage circulating online shows the intensity of the confrontations.
CHP chairman Ozgur Ozel revealed that nearly 15 million people participated in the party’s primaries, overwhelmingly supporting Imamoglu’s candidacy despite his recent arrest.
“The number of votes Mr. Ekrem Imamoglu received from our members and the solidarity ballot box is over 14.8 million,” Ozel stated during a rally in Istanbul.
Imamoglu was formally arrested and suspended from his mayoral position just hours before the vote. He was detained on Wednesday as part of a large-scale corruption investigation and now faces charges of extortion, bribery, and alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Türkiye classifies as a terrorist organization. Imamoglu has denied all allegations against him.
The CHP has condemned his arrest as a politically motivated move designed to eliminate Erdogan’s main opponent ahead of the next election. In response, the party organized internal primaries across the country, allowing both party members and the general public to cast votes through “solidarity ballot boxes.” Ozel described the turnout as overwhelming, noting that voting hours had to be extended and additional ballots printed.
“You saw it. There weren’t enough ballots, not enough envelopes, not enough hours to vote,” Ozel said, calling the result “the strongest response” to what the CHP claims is an attempt to silence Imamoglu.
Declaring Imamoglu’s nomination official, Ozel urged Erdogan to call early elections, arguing that Sunday’s vote “challenged [Erdogan’s] legitimacy” and made early presidential elections “inevitable.” A CHP spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Monday that Imamoglu will be the party’s official candidate in the 2028 presidential race.
His arrest has sparked mass protests across Türkiye, with demonstrations erupting in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara. Riot police have clashed with protesters, using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets to disperse crowds. Authorities have confirmed the detention of more than 300 people as of Sunday morning, while footage circulating online shows the intensity of the confrontations.
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