Barring Istanbul mayor from presidential run would only boost opposition, party leader says

Record ID: 1984682

  • Title: Barring Istanbul mayor from presidential run would only boost opposition, party leader says
  • Date: 20th March 2025
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (MARCH 20, 2025) (REUTERS) OZGUR OZEL, LEADER OF TURKEY’S MAIN OPPOSITION REPUBLICAN PEOPLE’S PARTY (CHP), WALKING IN HALLWAYS OF ISTANBUL MUNICIPALITY HEADQURTERS BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) CHP LEADER, OZGUR OZEL, SAYING: “In the event of a trustee being appointed (to the Istanbul municipality), of course we will raise the social struggle. But the app
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  • Keywords: CRACKDOWN DETENTION EKREM IMAMOGLU MAYOR OPPOSITION OZGUR OZEL TURKEY
  • Location: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • City: ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Europe,Middle East,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001042120032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Turkey's main opposition leader said on Thursday (March 20) any move to legally bar Istanbul's detained mayor from running for president would only strengthen support for their party, and that any candidate would beat President Tayyip Erdogan in elections.
    In an interview with Reuters a day after Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's chief political rival, was detained and charged, Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said Erdogan feared any future vote.
    Erdogan wants to appoint a trustee to replace Imamoglu, also from the CHP, and sever the opposition's ties with Turkey's largest city, Ozel said, in his first interview with foreign media since the mayor's detention.
    But the opposition would stage the "strongest democratic reaction" to any such move, Ozel said, speaking at the Istanbul Municipality headquarters building where he said he would remain until the mayor is released.
    Imamoglu, seen as the CHP's best hope to unseat Erdogan after 22 years running Turkey, was taken in on Wednesday facing charges of graft and aiding a terrorist group, a move that the opposition condemned as a "coup attempt" and that sparked nationwide demonstrations.
    (Production: Mert Ozkan, Omer Berberoglu, Ali Kucukgocmen)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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