The detention of İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu early on Wednesday has sparked fierce backlash from opposition parties, who have denounced the move as an attack on democracy and a political coup against Turkey’s opposition.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel reacted sharply, calling the detention “a coup attempt against our next president”. “Using power to override the will of the people is a coup d’etat”, Özel wrote on social media. “A force is at play to prevent the people from choosing their next president. We will not surrender. In the end, the will of the people will prevail, and Turkey will win.”
İmamoğlu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a potential presidential candidate, was taken into custody in a dawn raid at his home. The grounds for his detention remain unclear, but opposition leaders say it is part of a broader crackdown on political opponents ahead of forthcoming elections.
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş also condemned the move, warning: “No intervention against the will of the people will go unanswered.” “Such actions harm democracy the most,” Yavaş said in a statement. “Even if the grounds for detention are unclear, what does the rushed detention of a mayor who has attended court to give a statement indicate?”
Yavaş also commented on Imamoglu's detention saying: "This is Immorality".
CHP İstanbul Branch Chairman Özgür Çelik, speaking to supporters on Vatan Avenue, accused the government of trying to prevent local elections scheduled for 23 March. “They are doing everything to stop the ballot boxes from being set up,” he said. “Soon, they will launch smear campaigns through their media and army of trolls. But they will not be able to tarnish İmamoğlu’s reputation.”
Former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu also criticised the detention. “This intervention against the national will, the rule of law and democracy is unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “Those who attempt to take revenge on the Republican People’s Party have lost the trust and respect of the people.”
