Türkiye: Further protests against Erdogan for arresting his rival

The protests in Turkey against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the arrest of his rival Ekrem Imamoglu continue. There were violent clashes between demonstrating and the police. In the big cities of Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Eskisehir, the police advanced with tear gas and water cannons against demonstrating how different news portals wrote. People were injured. Meanwhile, Erdogan accused the opposition to deceive the “nation”.

Tens of thousands had already protested in some cities in the country on Thursday night. The Mayor of Istanbul Imamoglu is considered the most potentially promising challenger of the authoritarian -ruling Erdogan in the presidential election scheduled for 2028.

His Social Democratic CHP wanted to choose him to be her candidate on Sunday and announced on Thursday that he was putting him on for the presidential election campaign despite his arrest. According to media reports, Imamoglu is currently in custody at an Istanbul police department.

On Wednesday morning, Imamoglu was arrested together with many other people. This was justified by the public prosecutor with allegations of terrorism and corruption. Oppositions accuse the government of a coup. With her approach to Imamoglu, she wants to turn off a political competitor. There was also criticism of the arrest internationally. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called her a “very, very bad sign”.

Plastic floors against demonstrators in Ankara

Parliamentary members merged into a march during the protests on Thursday evening in the capital Ankara. According to the media and opposition politicians, plastic floors were used against demonstrators. The government’s communication directorate described this as false information. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported on platform X of six police officers injured in protests in Istanbul.

Erdogan accuses opposition theatrics

Erdogan accused the opposition deception. “The efforts of the opposition, their internal conflicts or their problems with the law to present the most important problem in the country are the summit of hypocrisy,” said Erdogan, according to the state news agency Anadolu. He had no time to waste the opposition. People have “no time for the opposition’s theatrics”.

Devlet Bahceli, party leader of the Ultranationalist government partner MHP from Erdogan, warned of further protests. Those who talk about walking onto the streets, those whose longings were outside of politics and democracy would only find trouble and regret. “Anyone who commits criminal acts has to pay the highest price.”

On the other hand, critics plan further demonstrations, although the Erdogan-friendly governor of Istanbul has banned protests for four days. The chairman of the Imamoglus party, Özgür Özel, said at a major demonstration in Istanbul, no one should expect from the CHP to make politics in halls and buildings. “From now on we are on the street.”

Social media were still only available to a limited extent on Thursday. Since Wednesday, users and media have reported only partially and barely accessible portals.

Dismission imamoglus would be an unprecedented process

In Turkey, numerous mayors of the party and recently also the CHP were removed due to terrorist investigation by their office and replaced by government-related forced administrators. The dismissal of the mayor of the 16 million metropolis Istanbul would be an unprecedented process.

Imamoglus victory in 2019 in Istanbul is considered the largest defeat in the AK party of Erdogans. This had ruled the big city until then. Imamoglu won again in Istanbul 2024.