The imprisoned mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, announced yesterday, Wednesday, that he is joining the New Party, which was recently founded, after the leadership of his former party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was removed by court order following an unprecedented legal crackdown on the opposition. Last month, Turkish opposition leader Özgür Özel and 90 other dissident lawmakers founded a new political party, seeking to regroup to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after a court removed Özel from his position as CHP chairman and reinstated the divisive former leaderKemal Kılıçdaroğlu to the party leadership.
“After 17 years, I am resigning from the Republican People’s Party. This decision stems from the values I hold regarding the future of our country and the responsibility I bear toward our people,” Imamoglu wrote in a statement on X.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“Today we are embarking on a NEW path to build a stronger, more democratic, and more promising future for Turkey,” he added, referring to the New Party. Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, has been in prison for more than a year while his trial on corruption charges—which he denies—is pending.
He had been elected as the CHP’s presidential candidate in an internal party vote a few days after his arrest in March 2025. His university degree—a prerequisite for running for president—was revoked by Istanbul University one day before his arrest. The New Party, which is already the second-largest party in parliament, is expected to attract most of the CHP’s voters; however, the broader fragmentation of the opposition may increase the president’s chances of extending his 23-year rule in Turkey.
The next elections are scheduled for 2028, but they could be held earlier.
The opposition and some human rights organizations say that the crackdown, under which hundreds of elected officials and CHP members have been imprisoned since 2024, is politically motivated and anti-democratic. The government denies this and asserts that the judiciary is independent.
Source: APE-MPE
