 has elected a member of the city council in İstanbul to run the city in the absence of its popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested on Sunday on corruption charges.){kind=link}
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has elected a member of the city council in İstanbul to run the city in the absence of its popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested on Sunday on corruption charges.
Following his arrest İmamoğlu was also removed from office, but a trustee was not appointed to the İstanbul Municipality by the government, unlike the practice in other municipalities whose mayors have been arrested or removed from office.
The city council, dominated by the CHP, elected member Nuri Aslan as the city’s interim mayor during a vote at city hall in Saraçhane on Wednesday, one week after the detention of İmamoğlu and dozens of others including two district mayors and other opposition figures as part of two investigations in which they face terrorism or corruption charges.
Aslan received 177 votes from the 314-member council. Although 185 members of the city council are from the CHP, 176 of them were able to vote since nine others were absent due to being in pretrial detention.
Aslan will run İstanbul for the remainder of İmamoğlu’s term in office as he awaits trial.
İmamoğlu, seen as Erdoğan’s main political rival, was reelected mayor of İstanbul in the March 2024 local elections. His term expires in March 2029.
Many say the arrest of İmamoğlu is politically motivated to sideline the mayor ahead of the next presidential election slated for 2028.
His arrest has sparked nights of street protests on a scale unseen in Turkey since 2013 and widespread condemnation from Europe, the UN and other international organizations.