An unknown group of people attacked a campaign booth manned by the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) in İstanbul’s Büyükçekmece district as a repeat mayoral election slated for June 23 in İstanbul approaches, the Diken news website reported on Friday.
The stand, part of a campaign to attract support for CHP mayoral candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, was attacked twice, and party supporters in the vicinity were insulted.
“You are all terrorists,” the assailants reportedly shouted when attacking the campaign booth, a tent set up in Büyükçekmece.
D.E., a young CHP supporter who stood up to the attackers, was beaten. One of the attackers returned an hour later, tearing down the tent and destroying the electronic devices in it.
The CHP filed a criminal complaint against the assailants, who fled the area.
CHP İstanbul provincial chairperson Canan Kaftancıoğlu blamed the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the attack, saying the AKP does its best to make people from different political views enemies of each other and describes all who are not pro-AKP as terrorists.
Although İmamoğlu won the election on March 31, the country’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) in a controversial move on May 6 cancelled the results of the mayoral election in İstanbul due to complaints from the AKP, which claimed election fraud and irregularities when his candidate, Binali Yıldırım, lost the election.