Hearing three days before elections?
Next lawsuit against Erdogan opponent Imamoglu
01/11/2023, 8:48 p.m
In Turkey, court decisions and lawsuits against the opposition are piling up ahead of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections in June. According to a report, Istanbul’s mayor Imamoglu has been hit a second time.
According to a media report, around five months before the presidential elections in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most promising opponent is facing a trial for alleged fraud. Turkish authorities have filed a lawsuit against the mayor of Istanbul and CHP politician Ekrem Imamoglu, as reported by TV station Habertürk. They accuse the politician of cheating on a public tender in 2015 when he was mayor of the Beylikdüzü district. If convicted, Imamoglu faces up to seven years in prison.
Imamoglu tweeted that the matter had been investigated years ago and the review was completed without any issue. Those who “desperately want to find us to blame” have now referred the matter to the judiciary, so Imamoglu.
Court hearing probably three days before elections
According to the report, the court hearing is scheduled for June 15, three days before the probable date of the June 18 parliamentary and presidential elections, for which Imamoglu is being traded as a promising opposition candidate. The opposition has not yet had an official lead candidate for the elections.
In addition to Imamoglu, the head of the social-democratic CHP, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is still being traded as a possible challenger, as is party colleague Mansur Yavas, who is mayor in Ankara. Imamoglu benefits from the fact that he has so far been able to appeal to both young, urban classes and religious people.
In December, a court sentenced Imamoglu to two years in prison. The judges also banned him from political activities. The verdict was issued for insulting public officials, he had described the election officers in the 2019 Istanbul local elections as “fools”. The judgment of an appeals court is still pending.
Lawsuits and judgments are hailing
It is not the only verdict that is currently making it difficult for the opposition to prepare for the elections. CHP chairman Kilicdaroglu was accused of violating a controversial “disinformation” law in November. About a week ago, a court also suspended the opposition pro-Kurdish party HDP from state party funding for the time being on charges of “connections to terrorism”.
The outcome of this year’s presidential election depends on whether the CHP and other opposition parties succeed in agreeing on a common candidate who will then also have good prospects. Erdogan has ruled Turkey with his conservative AKP for two decades. Critics accuse the President of an increasingly authoritarian course. Thousands of government opponents are in prison or have lost their jobs. In addition, the Turkish judiciary is considered partisan.