ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s main opposition party reelected its chairman Sunday, two weeks after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, the party’s highest profile rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ozgur Ozel was reelected at an extraordinary congress of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, which he called to prevent what he said was a plot by the government to appoint a caretaker for the party.
The arrest of Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges has ignited large-scale anti-government protests. Imamoglu had emerged as the main challenger to Erdogan’s 22-year rule since he was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019, overturning a quarter-century of rule by parties from Turkey’s conservative Islamist tradition.
The opposition claims the charges against Imamoglu are politically motivated, but the government insists the judiciary is independent and free of political interference.
While in prison, Imamoglu was confirmed as the CHP’s presidential candidate for the election scheduled for 2028, but which will likely to take place earlier.
Ozel said he decided to call Sunday’s party congress on March 21, two days after Imamoglu’s arrest and hours before the alleged government caretaker was to be appointed for CHP.
“They didn’t have the courage to compete with us in service, so instead they attempted to intimidate our municipalities and the opposition by using the might of the government against their rivals,” Ozel told the assembly. “They thought they could remain in power by polarizing the public and provoking new conflicts.”
Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and a delegation from the European Parliament’s Party of European Socialists visited the CHP headquarters Saturday to offer their support and solidarity with “all people fighting for democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.” Turkish media reported that Papandreou attended Sunday’s congress.
Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, suffered a major setback during municipal elections last year, when the CHP retained control over key cities like Istanbul and Ankara while also making huge gains elsewhere.
In the months since that election, many opposition mayors of both the CHP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, have been replaced by government-appointed caretakers on terrorism charges, which the parties strongly dispute.
