Imamoglu, the detained Istanbul mayor seen as Erdogan’s key rival

By Ece Toksabay

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday on charges such as graft and aiding a terrorist group, a step the main opposition party criticised as a "coup attempt against the next president".

A leading figure in the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Imamoglu, has long been seen as President Tayyip Erdogan's most formidable rival.

His appeal beyond his secular party's traditional base has propelled him onto the national stage, making him a competitive contender, whom the CHP was expected to name as its candidate for president in the next election.

Wednesday's detention, along with charges of leading a crime organisation, bribery, and tender rigging, escalates a political showdown that could shape Turkey's future.

Despite his legal troubles, Imamoglu has vowed to keep fighting. "I will not give up," he said in a video message on X.

Imamoglu's rise in politics has drawn parallels to Erdogan's own trajectory, as both have led Istanbul, hail from Turkey's Black Sea region, and encountered legal barriers that threatened their political futures.

Born in 1971 in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, Imamoglu studied business administration at Istanbul University before entering his family's construction business.

He joined the CHP in 2008 and became mayor of Istanbul's Beylikduzu district in 2014.

In 2019, he delivered Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) its biggest defeat in two decades by winning Istanbul's mayoral race, not once, but twice.

A court annulled his initial victory, only for him to win the re-run election by an even wider margin. And in 2024, he secured re-election despite a fractured opposition alliance.

Imamoglu has framed his political battles as a fight for democracy. "This is more than a mayoral election," he said last year.

"It is consigning a mentality to history. If it is consigned to history, democracy will revive, and law and justice will recover."

LEGAL SETBACKS

Imamoglu has faced legal challenges throughout his career, being sentenced in 2022 to 2-1/2 years in prison for insulting public officials, though an appeals court has yet to rule in the case.

Another case last year accused him of tender-rigging. His supporters view these charges as politically motivated attempts to sideline him, a claim Erdogan and the AKP deny.

The latest charges are the most serious. The Istanbul prosecutor's office has said 100 people, including journalists and businessmen, are suspected of involvement in corrupt municipal tenders.

Another investigation accuses Imamoglu and six others of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies.

Adding to the pressure, Istanbul University annulled Imamoglu’s degree this week. If the decision is upheld by a court, it could block him from running in the 2028 presidential elections.

However, if Erdogan seeks to run again, the vote may be held earlier.

In response to growing tension, the Istanbul governor’s office imposed a four-day ban on protests and public gatherings.

Despite what Immoglu calls persistent obstacles from Ankara, he has touted his administration’s achievements in Istanbul, a city of 16 million that drives Turkey’s economy.

His rivalry with Erdogan dates back decades, to a far humbler setting. In the mid-1990s, after Erdogan became mayor, he visited a meatball restaurant that Imamoglu was running in Istanbul’s district of Gungoren.

"I hosted him," Imamoglu once recalled. "He ate meatballs in my restaurant. I didn't take his money. He won't pay that bill as long as he lives."

(Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)