📌The police present at the scene did not intervene, leading Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is opposition's vice presidential candidate, to end his speech and leave the rally ground.#Erzurum | #imamoğlu https://t.co/k62D5OTA4g pic.twitter.com/CrVB3g2QKd
— MedyaNews (@1MedyaNews) May 7, 2023
Opposition rally in Turkey’s Erzurum was attacked on Sunday with stones by a group of about 200 people, allegedly supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
The police present at the scene did not intervene, leading Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is opposition’s vice presidential candidate, to end his speech and leave the rally ground.
The attack on İmamoğlu’s rally has been viewed as a deliberate attempt to intimidate the opposition ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and joint presidential candidate of the opposition Nation Alliance, has condemned the attack on Ekrem İmamoğlu and expressed his strong support for him with a video on Twitter.
However, he also called on his supporters to remain calm and not to respond to provocations that could lead to further violence.
