Nearly a year after he was imprisoned, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told Reuters that Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan should call elections "immediately" and predicted that the president would lose if he ran again.
Imamoglu has emerged as Erdogan's main rival in recent years, and polls show that he could indeed defeat Erdogan, who has been in power for more than two decades, if he is allowed to run.
However, Imamoglu is at the center of a government showdown with the main opposition party that human rights organizations and foreign observers say has undermined the democratic credibility of Turkey, an EU candidate and NATO member.
After defeating Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) three times in Istanbul elections, 55-year-old Imamoglu remains a powerful opposition figure, despite being in prison since March 2025, awaiting trial on corruption charges, which he denies.
"We want snap elections immediately. But the current president sees the impending defeat and is shying away from elections," Imamoglu said in answers to Reuters questions, which he submitted through his legal team from a prison in Silivri, west of Istanbul.
"They will run and lose. And Turkey will be the winner," Imamoglu said.
His Republican People's Party (CHP) has been calling for early elections for months. If it wins, it says it would restore the rule of law, revive frozen EU accession talks and pursue an economic policy closer to a social democratic model.
Presidential elections are not scheduled before 2028, but if Erdogan, who is 71, wants to run for a third term, he would have to call them earlier, unless constitutional term limits are changed.
Erdogan, who has led Turkey as prime minister or president since 2003, would need the support of three-fifths of MPs to decide to call early elections, which means he would have to secure support outside his ruling coalition.
Most analysts believe that Erdogan will call elections next year.
The CHP is trying to keep Imamoglu in the public eye by holding weekly rallies in Istanbul. The latest opinion polls show a close race between the CHP and Erdogan's AKP.
Imamoglu, the CHP's formal presidential candidate despite being in prison, said he was still working around 18 hours a day, cooperating with lawyers on more than a dozen court cases and investigations, reading letters of support and continuing to carry out his municipal duties.
He also exercises daily in a 24-square-meter courtyard with high walls, he stated in seven pages of responses.
However, Imamoglu's hopes of running in the elections appear increasingly dim as he faces what he claims is a judicial offensive that will culminate next month, when his trial begins.
“As the day of their defeat approaches, the government is increasing the pressure and hostility directed towards us,” he said.
The lead prosecutor in his cases, Akin Gurlek, has requested a prison sentence of more than 2.000 years for Imamoglu, on charges of leading a criminal organization within the Istanbul municipality involved in corruption.
Gurlek was appointed justice minister on Wednesday, sparking sharp criticism from the CHP and escalating into a brawl in parliament with AKP lawmakers. Erdogan accused the CHP of “showing every kind of violence” in the incident.
"The CHP's job will now become even more difficult," political commentator Murat Yetkin told Reuters, adding that Erdogan's choice of Gurlek is not just an attempt to marginalize Imamoglu, but is also linked to the restructuring of the Justice Ministry and judicial mechanisms.
Imamoglu, whose comments to Reuters came before Gurlek's appointment, denounced the series of court cases against him as a politically motivated campaign aimed at preventing him from running for president.
"Those in power, realizing they will lose, see salvation in keeping me in prison on false charges and ordering the judiciary," he said.
The government denies influencing the judiciary, which it claims is independent. Erdogan has largely avoided commenting on Imamoglu's case, saying the investigations "have nothing to do with me."
In another blow to Imamoglu's presidential ambitions, a court last month rejected his lawsuit challenging the annulment of his university degree - a qualification that is mandatory for any presidential candidate.
Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkey, said the decision made the judiciary look "ridiculously biased".
Asked if he thought he would be able to run in the next elections, Imamoglu said he still believes in justice and will fully exercise his legal rights.
"No pressure and no obstacle will stop me from working to make this country more just, free and prosperous," he said.
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