Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's path to another term apparently got a lot easier on Wednesday after the country's court sentenced Istanbul Mayor Ekram Imamolu - considered a serious potential presidential candidate - to two years and seven months in prison.
Imamoglu is probably the only one with a real chance of challenging Erdogan, who is expected to run for another term in the June elections.
The mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, photo: Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, points to a map as he talks during a media conference regarding the Kanal Istanbul project, near the construction site for the first bridge of the project on the edge of Sazlidere dam, in Istanbul, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to build a controversial alternative waterway to the north of Istanbul that would bypass the Bosphorus Strait.
Many, including Imamoglu, oppose the project fearing it would cause irreparable environmental damage.
(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Imamaulu belongs to the Republican People's Party - the main opposition party that is considered social democratic and is identified with the secular trend in the country.
In addition to the prison, he was also banned from being active in the public-political arena.
The reason for the conviction and the sentence is "insulting public servants", although it is possible that this is also the long arm of Erdogan in view of the polls that predict that if Imamaolu runs he may end Erdogan's long streak of control.
The things for which he was prosecuted were said after he called the members of the Turkish Election Commission "fools" following their decision to cancel his victory in the municipal elections and hold re-elections - which he ultimately won by a large majority.
The Turkish government, which is actually in the hands of Erdogan and his allies in almost all the significant centers of power, has been carrying out such purges against political opponents for a long time in order to prepare the ground for victory in the presidential elections in June 2023, which will likely be particularly difficult for the incumbent president in view of the economic crisis and the erosion of the value of the local currency .
It is still not clear what will happen to Imamaolu's candidacy (if he does run).
For the time being, his lawyers claim that he will remain free and in the position of mayor as long as the appeal in his case continues, but it is possible that in the coming months, even before the elections, the legal courts will confirm the sentence and he will go to prison - thus effectively closing the door on a serious candidate to replace Erdogan, who rules the country As prime minister and then as president (after changing the constitution) for almost 20 years.
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