CHP members flock to polling stations to elect İmamoğlu as presidential nominee

ANKARA

Members of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) have voted in mass numbers to elect Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as the presidential candidate of the main opposition on the day he was arrested over corruption allegations.

The CHP held primaries for the nomination of the party’s presidential candidate in the country's 81 provinces on March 23 in which İmamoğlu stood as the sole candidate. Only hours after he was arrested and taken to the Silivri prison, İmamoğlu was declared as the CHP’s presidential candidate for the next elections.

“Our candidate was detained on that date to ensure his arrest coincided with his election as the presidential candidate,” CHP Chairman Özgür Özel said on March 23, in reaction to the arrest of İmamoğlu.

Özel, all the executive as well as the party’s lawmakers and CHP members voted in the primaries. Those who are not registered to the CHP as members could also vote in a separate ballot box, dubbed the solidarity box.

Slamming President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for orchestrating the plot against the Istanbul Mayor, Özel said, “Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was elected as the Istanbul Mayor in three consecutive elections, was arrested only for defeating Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the polls and for the fact that he will win the next presidential elections.”

Özel recalled that they will appeal the court’s decision, but it will be equally important that public opinions also continue to object to the legal process against İmamoğlu.

“İmamoğlu is being taken to Silivri prison, but this will be his path to presidency,” Özel said, “Today, Türkiye’s future president is being arrested.”

The CHP Chairman called on the party members to continue to protest the actions taken against İmamoğlu and the CHP.

In the meantime, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş also criticized the arrest of the Istanbul mayor, saying, “This is a shameful day for the Turkish justice.”

“The fact that we heard about the allegations from the media before İmamoğlu’s lawyers were informed show how this prosecution is politically motivated,” he stated.

Fifteen million people voted in Sunday's primary to choose a presidential candidate for CHP, said the vote's organisers, Istanbul City Hall, late on March 23. "Out of 15 million votes, 13,211,000 expressed their solidarity" with Ekrem İmamoğlu, they said.