CHP mayors urge İmamoğlu to join presidential primaries

EDİRNE

Twenty-one mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) have called on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu to participate in upcoming primaries to determine the party’s presidential candidate.

In a joint statement following talks held from Feb. 13-15 in the northwestern city of Edirne, the CHP mayors highlighted what they described as increasing pressure on opposition-run municipalities, singling out İmamoğlu as a primary target.

"The government is trying to eliminate İmamoğlu through the judiciary as they know they cannot defeat him at the ballot box," the statement said.

İmamoğlu faces multiple legal challenges that could bar him from holding public office.

He is set to stand trial on April 11 over comments made against Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor Akın Gürlek, with prosecutors seeking a prison sentence of up to seven years and four months. If convicted, he could also be banned from politics.

Another investigation is underway regarding İmamoğlu’s remarks about alleged irregularities in probes into CHP-run municipalities.

He was previously sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for allegedly insulting members of Türkiye’s Supreme Election Council, a case currently under appeal.

Additionally, he faces separate charges of tender rigging dating back to his tenure as mayor of Beylikdüzü district, which could result in a further seven-year prison sentence.

CHP is set to announce its candidates for the primaries on Feb. 22, with over 1.6 million party members eligible to vote in the March 23 election. İmamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş are seen as the frontrunners, though reports suggest Yavaş may withdraw from the race.

The next national polls are not scheduled until 2028, but the CHP has long advocated for early elections.