Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkish president Erdogan’s main rival and the mayor of Istanbul, was arrested in the early hours on Wednesday. The warrant was issued on allegations of fraud, corruption, and aiding a terrorist group.
Imamoglu recently announced his intentions to run against Erdogan, even though no election is scheduled for another three years. Most opinion polls show Imamoglu as the most popular politician in the country. He is generally regarded as the man with the highest chance of defeating Erdogan in the elections.
His arrest comes as a major blow to his People’s Republican Party (CHP) and the opposition at large. In recent months, government pressure on opposition groups surged, with several politicians, activists, and journalists put on trial or arrested. Yet arresting the most popular opposition leader from a mainstream party – established by the founding father of the nation, Ataturk – was a red line many thought the government would never dare to cross, until Wednesday morning.
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