İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has ruled out the prospect of his removal from office and replacement with a government official amid speculation that emerged following the recent removal of several elected mayors from their offices, the Birgün daily reported.
“The 16 million residents of İstanbul do not have such a thing in mind. There is no such scenario,” İmamoğlu said, speaking to reporters in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district on Thursday.
Esenyurt’s mayor, Ahmet Özer, was arrested and removed from his post in late October on terror-related accusations and replaced with a government-appointed trustee. Both İmamoğlu and Özer are members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Following Özer’s removal, which sparked widespread condemnation and protests, the interior ministry announced on Monday the removal of three mayors from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), representing the cities of Mardin and Batman as well as Halfeti, a district in Şanlıurfa province, and their replacement with government officials.
All four mayors were removed from office for convictions and charges on terrorism-related offenses, ranging from membership in an armed group to disseminating propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Since 1984, the PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that has killed thousands and is formally recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies. However, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently encouraged outreach to the Kurdish community.
The removal of elected mayors has led to claims that President Erdoğan might target his strongest political rival, İmamoğlu, with such a move in order to block his prospects of a run for the presidency in the election scheduled for 2028.
CHP leader Özgür Özel told Sözcü TV on Wednesday that his party has a plan ready in the event that İmamoğlu is removed from office, but the party does not see such a development as likely. Özel thinks if the government removes İmamoğlu from his post it would only serve to increase public support for him.
“If Erdoğan wants to make İmamoğlu the next president, he can take such a step,” said Özel, adding that Erdoğan cannot even imagine the increase in public support İmamoğlu would receive if he were to be removed from office.
İmamoğlu was elected to his second term in the March 31 local elections, beating the candidate of Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) by a large margin, receiving 51.1 percent of the vote, while the AKP candidate, Murat Kurum, received only 39.5 percent.
İmamoğlu ended years of AKP rule in İstanbul with his win in a rerun of the 2019 elections. Erdoğan, who is also a former İstanbul mayor, sees winning the local vote in İstanbul as central to his election strategy. “The one who wins in İstanbul, wins in Turkey,” he once said.
İmamoğlu’s tenure as mayor of İstanbul is noteworthy for initiatives aimed at tackling several of the city’s pressing challenges, from environmental issues to socioeconomic inequalities.
İmamoğlu was charged with and convicted of “insulting election officials” in December 2022 before the elections in May 2023. According to observers, this was a move by Erdoğan to prevent him from running against him, which some say succeeded.