Arrested Istanbul mayor considered as candidate for Türkiye's presidency
Photo: Ekrem İmamoğlu (Getty Images)
On Sunday, 15 million people participated in the primaries of Türkiye's opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). An overwhelming majority supported the arrested mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and wanted to see him as a presidential candidate, according to France24.
Of the 15 million who voted, 13.211 million (non-party members) expressed their solidarity with İmamoğlu, the imprisoned opposition figure removed from his position as mayor of Istanbul on Sunday.
Observers say that the upcoming primaries were the main reason for the actions against İmamoğlu, who is widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Throughout the day, voters lined up at polling stations in 81 cities after the CHP opened voting to all citizens, except for the 1.7 million registered party members.
The voter turnout was so high that the voting period had to be extended by an additional three and a half hours.
İmamoğlu was detained early Wednesday morning, sparking mass protests that spread across Turkey. The voting took place as a court in Istanbul officially confirmed his arrest as part of a corruption investigation.
