Who is Ekrem Imamoglu? Istanbul Mayor, the biggest rival of Turkiye President Erdogan, arrested

The Turkish Police on Wednesday arrested Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, for alleged corruption and terror charges. Imamoglu is a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the arrest comes just before his presidential nomination.

His arrest marked an escalation in the crackdown carried out by the government against the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkiye. Imamoglu was expected to file his nomination papers as the presidential candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Though the next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, calls for early elections are getting louder after Erdogan's party lost the local elections in March.

According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, the prosecutors issued detention warrants for 53-year-old Imamoglu and some 100 other people, including his close aide Murat Ongun. He has been detained and taken to police headquarters, an aide told AFP.

The police also searched Imamoglu’s home but it was not clear if police confiscated anything at the site. Imamoglu also reacted to his arrest, stating "A blow to the will of the nation".

Following the arrest, authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for the next four days to quell public unrest or protest. Reports quoting Netblocks Internet observatory said multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, have been obstructed in Turkiye.

However, the government officials claimed the courts operate independently and rejected claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.

CHP’s chairman,Özgür Özel, denounced Imamoğlu’s detention as a "coup", adding that there was "a power in place to prevent the nation from determining the next president."

Degree invalidated

This isn't the first reported attempt to stop Imamoglu from contesting the elections. On Monday, a university invalidated his diploma which would mean that he is disqualified from running in the next presidential race since a university degree is a prerequisite for running in elections under Turkish law. Istanbul University nullified Imamoglu’s diploma, citing alleged irregularities in his 1990 transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus to its faculty of business administration.

There are allegations that his move was politically motivated. 'The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near. The march of our people, who are thirsty for justice, law, and democracy, cannot be stopped," he wrote on X.

He later also suggested the decision was made under pressure from Erdoğan’s government. "What will I do next? I will keep running like a lion. There’s no stepping back, I’ll run even harder," Imamoglu said.