İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has sharply criticised the use of the judiciary to settle political scores in Turkey, stating, “Political competition should not be decided in courtrooms.”
Speaking on Saturday at the “Second Century Change Congress”, a key gathering of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), İmamoğlu warned of mounting threats to Turkey’s democracy, its economy and its future. He described the ongoing legal actions against himself and other opposition figures as “judicial harassment” aimed at undermining the political opposition, adding, “These tactics won’t succeed.”
The actions against İmamoğlu himself stem from a legal battle following a press conference on 4 November 2019 in which he allegedly insulted members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council (YSK). The Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu had labelled the mayor a “fool” for remarks he made in Europe after the YSK annulled Istanbul’s mayoral election of the previous March. İmamoğlu countered at the press coonference, suggesting that those who had annulled the election (referring to the YSK) were the real fools. Charges were brought against him, and in December 2022 the court sentenced him to 2 years, 7 months and 15 days in prison and banned him from politics.
İmamoğlu, the opposition CHP candidate, had won out over the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate in the 2019 İstanbul mayoral elections. After the YSK annulled the results, citing irregularities, and ordered a re-run, İmamoğlu won the re-run election by an even larger margin, solidifying his position as İstanbul’s mayor and making him a key rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The legal proceedings were fraught with accusations of political interference. Controversy grew over changes in the judiciary handling the case, including a new judge and a rejected request for a recusal. On 14 December, İmamoğlu was sentenced in absentia while rallying supporters in İstanbul, where he condemned the verdict as an attack on democracy.
The court’s decision sparked strong reactions both domestically and internationally. As opposition leaders rallied behind İmamoğlu, US President Joe Biden condemned the verdict as an affront to human rights and freedoms. Meanwhile, supporters of the ruling coalition defended the legal process, noting that the appeals system remained available.
In his speech on Saturday, İmamoğlu urged CHP members to look to the future and work towards a more democratic and prosperous Turkey, insisting that the party must become a beacon of hope not only for Turkey but for the broader region.
