How much support for IMamoglu mayor, Istanbul’s prison mayor? | Explanation news

Prison supporters Mayor of Istanbul, Ikram ImamogluSay millions they have He gathered to protest his arrest On corruption fees. There are no official numbers, but observers say these are the biggest competing protests in a decade.

IMamoglu faces multiple fees, including “creating and managing a criminal organization, taking bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and falsification of giving.” He has He denied the charges.

Tayyip Ardogan president says that anyone accused of the crime must be tried in the courts and that the “violence movement” in the streets will not work.

Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), encourages the protests and launched a petition to demand the release of IMamoglu and early presidential elections.

What is the attractiveness of Imamoglu?

IMamoglu was widely expected to run for the presidency in 2028, but his imprisonment – and the abolition of university grades before his days – would exclude him technically.

But CHP He nominated him as a presidential candidate anyway On March 23.

In 2019, during his campaign for mayor, IMamoglu managed a low -level campaign even when he was forced to restart the race after the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK party, which is disputed in the results.

Since he took office, improvements have been credited with infrastructure, social services and cultural heritage in Istanbul.

“Some of his attractiveness is summarized in his personality: warm, friendly, clear, accessible. It is also not exciting to disagreement, which is rare in Turkish policy at this stage,” said Zia Miral, a lecture in international studies at the University of London.

Imamoglu appeared on a city stage, which is “miniature for the Turkish identity policy”, as Burcu Ozcelik of the Royal United Services, adding that anywhere else in the country is a competition as fierce.

As such, the protests in response to “the injustice imagined imprisonment and is a democratic elected mayor and has a busy record in being a” man of people. “

What did Erdogan say?

Erdogan denied that the charges against Imamoglu were of political motives.

IMamoglu has previously been accused of being a pawn of foreign interests and rejecting the previous legal difficulties of the Istanbul mayor as under it.

The president described the current wave of protests the “violence movement” and accused the People’s Republican Party leadership, “protecting those who attack the police with stones and axes,” noting more than 100 police officers who have so far been injured in gatherings.

“The courts have held the responsibility who committed betrayal against the national will, and it will do so in the future,” he said.

“The judiciary will retain those behind any sabotage against the Turkish economy and the luxury of the nation.”

The Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunc, defended the independence of the judiciary against the accusations of political bias, saying that Erdogan did not affect the arrest of IMamoglu.

What did the Republican People’s Party say?

The party has criticized the accusations against Imamoglu, saying they have political motives and aim to remove it from the presidential race.

In addition to encouraging gatherings, Ozel previously called for boycotting products and services from companies that are believed to be close to AK, and Erdogan has condemned an economic “sabotage”.

On Wednesday, Ozil picked up calls between the supporters of Imamoglu to ban one -day shopping, and to write on social media in the end: “We have all seen what the Military Council alliance fell against us in a state of panic. Those who were unable to go out for years were in a hurry and see the state of the poor nation.”

“The real reason for the real reason is Emoglu in the reservation … (he) because he was already able to crush his opponents in the ballot box four different times.”

“They detained hundreds of our children, thousands of our youth,” Ozil told the demonstrators in Istanbul, “They only had one goal in mind: intimidating them … Make sure they did not go out again.”

Does everyone love imamoglu?

While Imamoglu was praised to introduce measures to improve the infrastructure of Istanbul, social services and cultural heritage, he also faced criticism.

In 2019, he was criticized for not preparing the city better for the expected floods. Imamuglu faced more cash The following year, when he briefly visited the city of Elazig, which struck the earthquake in the eastern Anatolia province, before leaving for a ski vacation with his family.

A profile in the daily supporting newspaper Sebah described in February in detail the long battles of Imamoglu with the judiciary “a political path … stained with criticism on his rule” of the most acquired city of Turkiye in Turkiye.

In July 2020, Istanbul Municipality’s review indicated what the mayors’s critics called excessive spending, unlike previous pledges to maintain low prices and reduce spending on the municipality.

He underwent official inquiries in everything from falsifying bid to an attempt to influence the judiciary, some of which were still ongoing at the time of his arrest.

Why does the Republican People’s Party not choose another presidential candidate?

They didn’t say, but they seem to be determined to stand beside him.

He won in Istanbul in 2019, when the 25 -year -old AK party was broken on the city, as Erdogan rose for the first time to national fame, which he said in 2019: “If we lose Istanbul, we lose Turkey.”

In the local elections last year, IMamoglu and CHP managed to turn many areas that AK considered it.

He is a practicing Muslim, who believes the People’s Party, a secular party, to expand its attractiveness among the most conservative voters.

CHP may also bet on IMamoglu’s political path and life that continues to resemble Erdogan, as many analysts have indicated.

Is iMamoglu and Erdogan’s life similar?

There are similarities.

Both have family relations with the Black Sea region in Turki.

Both served the position of mayors in Istanbul and Erdogan from 1994 to 1998 and IMamoglu until his arrest on corruption.

Like IMamoglu, Erdogan spent a time in prison during his time in office-four months of prison sentence for 10 months-and was banned from politics for a period of time to read a poem in September 1998 that the secular state found hostile to the republic.

Both have football links. Imamoglu was a player for amateur and is still a voice supporter of his local team, Tlazonsport, while Erdogan played for a short period for the CamialtıSport FC team as a semi -professional.

“Erdogan himself started his national political career first as the mayor of Istanbul, and he has publicly mentioned that everyone who wins in Istanbul will win the national elections,” Miral said, adding that this prediction has proven to be true for Erdogan several years ago.