On Sunday, March 23, Turkey's opposition Republican People's Party nominated ousted and imprisoned Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as its presidential candidate. A total of 15 million Turkish citizens took part in the Republican People's Party primaries, which is almost a quarter of the country's registered voters. Of these, 13.2 million supported İmamoğlu, the sole candidate.
Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel called on Turkey's incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to hold early presidential elections and decide to run against Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in front of Istanbul's city hall on the same day to protest against the political persecution of Erdogan's rival. The AP quoted Özel as saying at the rally: "On the one hand, Imamoğlu is in prison, and on the other, he is on his way to the presidency." Dilek Kaya, the wife of Imamoğlu, who is the new presidential candidate, also addressed the demonstrators.
The demonstrators tried to build barricades and clashed with police, Milliyet reported. As a result, 66 protesters were arrested and five police officers were injured, according to its information.
German Foreign Minister Ekrom Baerbock called the arrest of Imamoğlu "a serious blow to democracy in Turkey." Paris and Athens supported the Istanbul mayor. Hundreds of people demonstrated in Istanbul.
The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the crackdown on officials, activists, civil society and business representatives and journalists since the beginning of the year raise questions about Turkey's commitment to its long-standing democratic traditions, said the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Kallas.
Brussels called on the Turkish government to ensure full transparency and respect all due process. As a candidate country for EU membership and a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is obliged to uphold the highest democratic standards, the statement said.
