CHP picks Imamoglu for Turkey's presidency
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey's main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP) on Thursday nominated Istanbul's popular sacked mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as its presidential candidate for the 2028 elections.
'The CHP Party Assembly unanimously decided that Ekrem Imamoglu will be the presidential candidate,' the opposition media outlet ANKA said.
Imamoglu, 53, was sacked from his position on Sunday following a court order on corruption charges. He is seen as the main rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming 2028 presidential race, and his arrest has triggered massive nationwide protests and unrest.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the CHP, said on Sunday that 14,850,000 people voted for Imamoglu in the party's primary as presidential candidate.
The protests triggered a crackdown from Turkish police and security forces, who by Thursday had detained over 1,800 people, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya
His arrest came days after he was detained as part of an extensive investigation into a criminal organization. Prosecutors say that 99 suspects, including Imamgolu, were involved in bribery, extortion, fraud, unlawful data acquisition, and tender rigging, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.
Several Western countries have condemned the sacking of Imamoglu, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Washington on Tuesday that his country is concerned about the recent crackdown on protesters in Turkey.
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