The opposition Republican People's Party of Turkey nominated the ousted and imprisoned Istanbul mayor Akrom Imomo‘g‘li as a presidential candidate on March 23, Sunday. A total of 15 million Turkish citizens participated in the primaries of the Republican People's Party, which constitutes nearly a quarter of the registered voters in the country. Among them, 13.2 million supported Imomo‘g‘li, who was the sole candidate.
Republican People's Party chairman Özgür Özel called on Turkey's current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to hold early presidential elections and to compete against Akrom Imomo‘g‘li.
On that day, tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered in front of the Istanbul municipality to protest against Erdoğan's rival being persecuted for political reasons. AP quoted Özel's words from the rally: "Imomo‘g‘li is on one side in prison, and on the other side, he is on the way to the presidency." Imomo‘g‘li's wife Dilek Kaya also addressed the demonstrators.
Demonstrators attempted to build barricades and clashed with the police, according to Milliyet. As a result, it reported that 66 demonstrators were arrested, and five police officers were injured.
European countries condemned the arrest of the Istanbul mayor
German Foreign Minister Baerbock described Akrom Imomo‘g‘li's arrest as a "serious blow to democracy in Turkey." Paris and Athens expressed their support for the Istanbul mayor. Hundreds of people protested in Istanbul.
The arrest of Istanbul mayor Akrom Imomo‘g‘li and the persecution of officials, activists, civil society 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, Josep Borrell.
Brussels called on the Turkish government to ensure full transparency and to comply with all legal procedures. As a candidate country for the European Union and a long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is obliged to apply the highest democratic standards, the statement said.
