CHP formally appoints İmamoğlu as presidential candidate
ANKARA
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has formally approved the candidacy of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu for the next presidential elections in line with results of the recent primaries.
İmamoğlu was elected with the votes of around 15 million people in the primaries held March 23, days after he was arrested over alleged corruption links.
The results of the primaries were first approved by the Party Assembly of the CHP under the leadership of Chairman Özgür Özel, which was convened at the headquarters of the main opposition party in Ankara on March 27.
The final vote took place at the CHP parliamentary group with the participation of all lawmakers of the party. It was reported that İmamoğlu’s candidacy was unanimously approved by the CHP’s parliamentary group.
Türkiye will hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2028 but many in Ankara believe they will take place earlier than the scheduled.
The CHP’s Party Assembly and the parliamentary group have also endorsed Chairman Özel’s decision to hold an extraordinary convention on April 6 to avoid a legal investigation.
A prosecutor had launched an investigation over fraud claims on the CHP’s latest convention in 2023 in which Özel defeated former Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
CHP calls on people to attend big Istanbul rally
In the meantime, the main opposition party will continue protesting the arrest of İmamoğlu which they consider a “political coup” against the CHP.
The CHP will hold a massive rally in Maltepe district of Istanbul on March 29, Özel said on March 26. He also stressed that they will continue to object to ongoing legal proceedings against İmamoğlu and other CHP district mayors of Istanbul.
In an interview with daily Cumhuriyet, Özel said big rallies are being planned to take place in big cities like Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Adana, Trabzon, Antalya and Mersin after the Ramadan feast.
“We will launch a new campaign with the demand of early polls,” he stated.
