Explained: Turkey Tense As President's Main Rival Jailed, Protests Flare Up

Turkey is witnessing the worst street unrest in more than a decade following the arrest of Istanbul's embattled mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential opposition candidate in the upcoming Turkish presidential election against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Defying the ban on gatherings, tens of thousands of people took to the streets across cities around Turkey over the weekend against Mr Imamoglu's arrest.

Addressing vast crowds of protesters who gathered outside Istanbul's City Hall for a fifth straight evening on Sunday, his wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, warned the authorities they would face a reckoning. 

"He will defeat you!... you will lose!" she shouted from the platform.

"The injustice Ekrem faced... it struck a chord with every conscience. Everyone found something of themselves and the injustices they faced in what was done to Ekrem," Ms Imamoglu said.

(Source: AFP)

Why People Are Protesting

Erdogan's CHP opposition party has denounced his arrest as a "political coup", with his supporters claiming the charges against him were politicised and aimed at stopping him from running for president in three years.

"Whenever there's a strong opponent (to Erdogan), they are always jailed," said 29-year-old voter Ferhat, who declined to give his surname.

"There is a dictatorship in Turkey right now, nothing else. It's politics in name only," he told AFP near City Hall.

However, some are also joining the agitation saying the issue is bigger than Mr Imamoglu and represents wider struggles, including concerns with democracy, the economy, education, and healthcare systems, according to a report by Al Jazeera. 

Ayten Oktay, a 63-year-old pharmacist, said there was no going back. 

"Now the Turkish nation has woken up. The protests will definitely continue after this. We will defend our rights until the end," she said.

(Source: AFP)

When Did Protests Start?

Protests in Turkey started on Wednesday after the mayor was arrested in a pre-dawn raid by hundreds of police. His supporters gathered at Istanbul University on the same evening to decry the arrest. According to media reports, the agitation has continued since, spreading across the country. 

Who is Ekrem Imamoglu? 

Mr Imamoglu was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019 and triumphantly re-elected last year. By winning Turkey's largest city (nearly 16 million inhabitants) and business centre, the 53-year-old mayor has become Erdogan's number one opponent. 

Observers believe that it was the looming primary that triggered the move against Mr Imamoglu, widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

(Source: AFP)

What Is He Accused Of?

The mayor was charged with corruption, bribery and "terrorism" due to an electoral agreement between the CHP and a pro-Kurdish party the authorities accuse of having links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated a terrorist group by Ankara. 

According to a report by AFP, the pretrial detention order stated that "Ekrem Imamoglu is being detained for establishing and leading a criminal organisation; accepting bribes; corruption; illegally recording personal data; and rigging tenders".

The order went on to say that "although there is a strong suspicion of guilt for the crime of supporting an armed terrorist organisation, it is not necessary at this stage" to order his detention on these potential charges "since it has already been decided to imprison him for financial crimes".

Although the court decided against formalising his arrest in a separate "terror" probe, the interior ministry said he had been "suspended from office".

The powerful and popular opposition mayor was on Sunday stripped of his title and shipped off to Silivri prison on the megacity's western outskirts.

As the court process played out, the main opposition CHP party held a long-planned primary to elect Mr Imamoglu as its candidate in the 2028 presidential election.

Opening the ballot beyond its 1.7 million members to anyone who wanted to vote, they said in the end they had registered 15 million votes for Mr Imamoglu. "Out of a total of 15 million votes, 13,211,000 (not-party members) are solidarity votes," they added.

(Source: AFP)

Imamoglu vows to fight 

Mr Imamoglu has vowed to fight on despite being suspended as mayor and jailed. "This is not a judicial procedure, it's a (political) execution without trial," he wrote on X in a message through his lawyers. 

"I stand tall and will keep my head high. Fear cannot stop the inevitable! One way or another, you will be defeated. You will be defeated by our just cause, our courage, our humility, and our warm smiles. My great nation, Do not be sad, do not be disheartened, and never lose hope. Together, we will erase this blow to our democracy, this dark stain, once and for all...I stand tall and will keep my head high. Everything will be much better.," he said in another post. 

I stand tall and will keep my head high. Fear cannot stop the inevitable!

One way or another, you will be defeated. You will be defeated by our just cause, our courage, our humility, and our warm smiles.

My great nation,
Do not be sad, do not be disheartened, and never lose…

— Ekrem İmamoğlu (International) (@imamoglu_int) March 23, 2025

Controversial Timing

Mr Imamoglu was due to be named Sunday as the CHP's candidate for the next presidential election, scheduled for 2028, in a primary in which he is the only candidate. 

On Tuesday, just hours before his arrest, the cancellation of his degree had already placed an obstacle in his path, as the Turkish Constitution requires all presidential candidates to have a higher education degree.

In 2023, Mr Imamoglu was not fielded by his party in the presidential race over a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "insulting" members of Turkey's High Electoral Committee. His appeal is still pending. 

CHP decided to go ahead with its primary Sunday and called on all Turks, even those not registered with the party, to participate in the hope of turning this election into a referendum. Istanbul town hall said that 15 million people voted in the primary, with 13 million of them not being CHP members. 

Biggest Protests Since 2013

Mr Imamoglu's arrest has sparked the country's largest demonstrations since the Gezi protests of 2013, which began in Istanbul over the demolition of a local park. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Istanbul on Friday and Saturday evenings, with large demonstrations in other cities, notably Ankara and Izmir.

In total, rallies took place in at least 55 of Turkey's 81 provinces, or more than two-thirds of the country, according to an AFP tally. 

Analysts say the protests, mostly led by young people, reflect grievances that extend far beyond Mr Imamoglu's arrest. Faced with these protests, Turkish authorities have asked X to close more than 700 accounts, the online platform said.