A Turkish court formally placed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu under arrest as part of a graft investigation on Sunday, after a fourth night of mass protests sparked heavy clashes with riot police.
The decision was confirmed by one of Imamoglu’s lawyers, with the court also due to rule in a second “terror-related” probe into the popular opposition mayor, whose detention has sparked Turkiye’s worst street protests in over a decade.
“No despair! Keep fighting!” wrote the main opposition CHP party on X, denouncing it as “a political coup d’etat”.
The news came as voters cast their ballots in a CHP primary to name Imamoglu the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential race.
The long-planned vote was the event which triggered the arrest of Imamoglu, who is widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He was detained in connection with two probes alleging graft and “aiding a terror organisation” — accusations which he on Saturday told police were “immoral and baseless”.
The move against him sparked protests in Istanbul that have since spread to more than 55 of Turkiye’s 81 provinces, unleashing running battles with police, who arrested 323 people overnight, officials said.
Polls opened at 8am (10am PKT) with 5,600 ballot boxes in 81 cities.
The CHP said the vote was open to everyone, not just members, in the hope of a massive show of support for Imamoglu.
“I invite our nation… to the ballot box. We are casting our vote to support President Ekrem: for democracy, justice and the future,” said his wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, on X, shortly after voting with her son Selim.
“We are not afraid and we will never give up.”
