Party of jailed Istanbul mayor holds extraordinary meeting
The Turkish opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) of imprisoned and deposed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu is set to gather in Ankara on Sunday for an extraordinary party congress.
The congress in the capital is to be followed by a rally on Sunday in solidarity with the CHP's presidential candidate İmamoğlu, CHP leader Özgür Özel said this week.
İmamoğlu's arrest and subsequent removal from office in March plunged Turkey into its worst political crisis in over a decade.
Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in anti-government demonstrations across Turkey. The CHP has planned weekly protests starting next week despite pressure from authorities.
İmamoğlu and several aides are accused of corruption and supporting the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). İmamoğlu rejects the allegations as politically motivated.
The CHP sees the move as a government manoeuvre to eliminate a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and has demanded a snap election. Turkey's next presidential election is scheduled for 2028.
The secular CHP is already under investigation over a 2023 party congress. Allegations include that party members were bribed to vote for Özel. Özel and the party deny the charges.
The party leader said in March that Sunday's congress is to legally avoid the government appointing a trustee to the party.
Özel is expected to be re-elected as party leader.
The long-time Islamic conservative leader Erdoğan recently threatened to expose more graft within the CHP and questioned the party's legitimacy.
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UPI
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
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Boston Globe
3 hours ago
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What happened to Moscow? A dispatch from behind the sanctions.
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