Party of jailed Istanbul mayor re-elects its leader
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) re-elected its party leader Özgür Özel on Sunday, as the CHP seeks to cement its resistance following the arrest of their presidential candidate and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Özel, 50, was re-elected at an an extraordinary party congress by an overwhelming majority of 1,171 of 1,276 ballots cast, reported news agency Anka, which is considered to be close to the opposition. He did not face a challenger.
The secular CHP has been at the forefront of anti-government protests that have swept Turkey since İmamoğlu was arrested and removed from office over corruption and terrorism allegations last month.
The party has planned weekly protests starting next week despite pressure from authorities. The congress in the capital was followed by a Sunday rally in Ankara in solidarity with İmamoğlu.
People had also been out protesting the arrest of the deputy secretary general of the Istanbul city administration, Mahir Polat, local media reported.
Polat's lawyer on X called for his client's release, saying his life was in acute danger in custody due to his high blood pressure.
The CHP sees the arrests 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.
Sunday's vote was aimed at preventing the government from appointing a trustee to the party, which is under investigation over allegations that party members were bribed to vote for Özel at a party congress in 2023. Özel and the party deny the charges.
Deputy CHP leader Gamze Taşcıer said that a threat to the party still remains despite Özel's re-election on Sunday.
İmamoğlu and several aides are accused of corruption and supporting the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). İmamoğlu rejects the allegations as politically motivated.
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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