Istanbul divided as Erdogan rival’s arrest sparks anti-government protests

The scent of tear gas lingered over Sarachane Square in Istanbul as thousands gathered over the weekend to protest against the arrest of the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, outside the municipal headquarters.

The popular politician, whom Turkiye’s main opposition party has chosen as its candidate for the next presidential election, was arrested on March 19. Since then, protests have erupted daily, with demonstrators now calling for the government’s resignation.To Imamoglu’s supporters, the decision to detain and remove him from office is Turkiye’s longtime leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tightening his grip on power.

For the government and its supporters, it is simply the judiciary doing its job.

Cinar Ileri, 28, has been attending the protests as a “neutral observer”.

“Look, I’m not supporting Imamoglu in any way. I didn’t vote for him. But I think what happened is unjust for any politician because the legal decision about him is not really just a legal case, it’s a political case,” said Ileri.Allegations of corruption have plagued municipalities across Turkiye’s political spectrum and were the subject of a report submitted to the Turkish parliament, which argues that insufficient checks and balances have been enforced to combat it.

Yet some see that the government focuses on opposition politicians to a point that raises doubts about its commitment to justice, with the accusation that authorities aim to reshape the political landscape.

Those close to the government have rejected these allegations. Hilal Kaplan, a journalist close to the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, who writes in the Sabah newspaper, laid the blame squarely at the opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) door.

“The CHP member who reported the case to the prosecutor’s office, the one who filed a criminal complaint, the one who confessed, the one who presented the evidence, the one who witnessed and spoke – even the secret witness who covered up his own wrongdoing – is a CHP member,” she said in an op-ed arguing that it was members of Imamoglu’s party who had reported him to the authorities.Slowdown in protests
Imamoglu, who has won two successive mayoral elections in Istanbul, is widely regarded as Erdogan’s chief political challenger.

Erdogan has been in power since 2003 and won the country’s most recent presidential election in 2023.In a parallel with Imamoglu, Erdogan was also a popular mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, before being imprisoned in 1999.

The day before his arrest, Imamoglu’s university degree was cancelled by Istanbul University, which said it was falsely obtained – having a valid degree is a prerequisite to running for president.

“I will continue attending the demonstrations to see what’s happening – to see what people feel, what they think. And also, what this could lead to,” said Ileri.

“After four days of demonstrations, I feel like there is a slowdown in the dynamism within the protests,” he added.

“Sunday night, I was there. In my opinion, nothing special happened. The day he was officially arrested, there wasn’t much enthusiasm. And when people compare this to the Gezi Park protests, I don’t think they even match or come close in impact and power,” said Ileri, referring to the 2013 antigovernment protest movement.