Arrest of Istanbul Mayor and Erdogan Rival on Charges of Corruption and 'Terrorism Links'

Turkish police arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on Wednesday morning, March 20. According to Turkish media, İmamoğlu, a serious and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been accused of 'corruption and connections to terrorist networks.' The state-run Anadolu Agency also reported that arrest warrants had been issued for about one hundred others. To counter potential protests, government officials blocked several roads leading to Istanbul and declared a four-day ban on any demonstrations in the city. Reports also indicated that access to Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) was blocked in Turkey. Following İmamoğlu's arrest, Turkish stocks fell nearly 7%, and the Turkish lira dropped 12%, reaching its lowest value against the dollar. Currently, one U.S. dollar equals 41 Turkish lira. Just before his arrest, İmamoğlu released a video message on social media stating, 'We are facing a dictatorship, but know that I will not back down.' He accused the Turkish government of 'usurping the will of the people.' One day before İmamoğlu's arrest, a university invalidated his degree, effectively disqualifying this popular opposition figure from running in the next presidential election. Under Turkish law, having a university degree is mandatory for candidacy. Istanbul University cited 'some irregularities' in İmamoğlu's transfer from a private university in Northern Cyprus to its business management faculty in 1990, 35 years ago, as the reason for invalidating his degree, a decision that İmamoğlu stated he would challenge. This opposition leader faces various accusations, including attempts to 'divert' judicial investigations concerning municipalities controlled by opposition figures. These allegations could potentially lead to prison sentences and political bans. İmamoğlu is also appealing a ruling from three years ago against him, where he was accused of 'insulting' members of Turkey's Supreme Election Council, which could result in a political activity ban. İmamoğlu was elected mayor of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, in 2019, a significant blow to Erdoğan and his party, the Justice and Development Party, which lost control of Istanbul after a quarter-century. The Justice and Development Party attempted to challenge the election results, claiming 'irregularities and issues,' to regain control of the 16 million-strong city. Consequently, elections were repeated a few months later, but İmamoğlu won again. Following local and council elections held last year, he solidified his position as Istanbul's mayor. The Republican People's Party achieved significant successes against Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party in municipal and council elections. The Republican People's Party, Turkey's largest opposition party, is set to hold primary elections next Sunday to determine its candidate for the presidential election, with İmamoğlu expected to be the easy choice. Although the presidential election is scheduled for three years from now, there is a high likelihood of early elections.