Incarcerated supporters Mayor of Istanbulsay millions Rally protesting his arrest About corruption allegations. There are no official figures, but observers say these are the biggest anti-government protests in a decade.

Imamoglu faces multiple charges, including “establishing and managing criminal organizations, bribery, extortion, illegal recording of personal data and manipulating tenders”. He has Denied the charges.

Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said anyone accused of committing a crime must be tried in court and the street “violence movement” will not work.

Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), is encouraging the protests and launching a petition calling for the release of Imamoglu and the early presidential election.

What is the attraction of imamoglu?

Imamoglu is widely expected to run for president in 2028, but his imprisonment – ​​whose college degree was cancelled a few days ago – technically his imprisonment would exclude him.

But the health room Anyway, he was nominated as presidential candidate March 23.

In 2019, during his campaign for mayor, Imamoglu participated in a low-key campaign, and even though he was forced to replay the game after the ruling Justice and Development Party or the AK Party, the candidates also objected to the results.

Since taking office, he has been considered an improvement on Istanbul’s infrastructure, social services and cultural heritage.

Ziya Meral, an international studies lecturer at SOAS at the University of London, said: “Some of his attraction comes down to his personality: warm, friendly, clear, accessible. He is not split, nor is he rare in Turkish politics.”

Burcu Ozcelik of the Royal Joint Service Academy told Al Jazeera that Imamoglu appeared on the stage of the city, which is “a microcosm of Turkish identity politics”.

Therefore, the protests were an injustice against a democratically elected mayor sentenced to jail, whose record was “one of the people.”

What did Erdogan say?

Erdogan denied that the allegations against Imamoglu were politically motivated.

He had previously accused Imamoglu of being a pawn of foreign interests and rejected the legal difficulties of the mayor of Istanbul.

The president called the current wave of protests a “violent movement” and accused the CHP leaders of “covering those who attacked police with stones and axes”, pointing to more than 100 police officers injured in the rally so far.

“The court ruled that those responsible for committing treason against national will will do so in the future,” he said.

“The judiciary will hold any damage that undermines Türkiye’s economy and the welfare of the country.”

Attorney General Yilmaz Tunc has defended the independence of the judiciary against allegations of political bias, saying Erdogan did not affect Imamoglu’s arrest.

What do you say about satellites?

The party slammed the allegations against Imamogru, saying they were politically motivated to evacuate him from the presidential campaign.

In addition to encouraging rally, Ozel had previously called for boycott of products and services from companies deemed to be close to the AK party, and Erdogan condemned an initiative to “destruct” the economy.

On Wednesday, Ozel answered a call for a one-day shopping ban among supporters of Imamoglu, ending up writing on social media: “We all see a state of panic about our coalition of governments.

“The real reason why Ekrem Imamoglu was detained… (IS) is because he has managed to beat his opponent in the ballot box four times in the ballot box,” Dilek, wife of Imamoglu, said in a video podcast.

“They detained hundreds of children, thousands of young people, and they had only one goal: to intimidate them … to make sure they would never go out again,” Ozel said in Istanbul.

So does everyone like imamoglu?

Although Imamoglu has been praised for its proposals for improving infrastructure, social services and cultural heritage in Istanbul, he also faces criticism.

In 2019, he was severely criticized for not preparing for flood predictions. imamoglu further faces criticize The following year, when he briefly visited the earthquake-striking city of Elazig in the eastern province of Anatolia, and then went on a ski vacation with his family.

The pro-government Daily Sabah profile in February details Imamoglu’s long battle with the judiciary describes the “political trajectory…the governance of him is criticized” for the most populous city of Turkiye.

An audit of Istanbul municipalities in July 2020 pointed out that critics of the mayor called excessive spending compared to past commitments to keep prices low and reduce municipal overspending.

He has been formally asking everything from tender manipulation to trying to influence the judiciary, some of which are still in progress when arrested.

Why doesn’t the Centre choose another presidential candidate?

They didn’t say it, but they seemed determined to support him.

He won Istanbul in 2019, breaking the AK party’s 25-year holdings in the city, Erdogan was promoted to national fame for the first time, and he said in 2019: “If we lose Istanbul, we will lose Turkiye.”

In last year’s local elections, Imamoglu and the Centers for Health Protection (CHP) were able to flip several areas where the AK party has seen it as its party.

He is a practice Muslim, a secular party, who sees its appeal among more conservative voters as widening.

As many analysts have pointed out, the Centre for Health Protection may also bet on Imamogru’s political trajectory, and life continues to be similar to that of Erdogan.

Are Imamoglu and Erdogan’s lives similar?

There are similarities.

Both have family ties to the Black Sea area of ​​Turkiye.

Both served as mayors of Erdogan and imamoglu of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998 until they were arrested on charges of corruption.

Like Imamoglu, Erdogan spent some time in prison during his tenure (sentenced to four months in prison) and was banned from politically for reading a poem in September 1998, a secular state that was considered a counter-segment person.

Both even have football links. Imamoglu is an amateur player who remains a voice supporter of his local team Trabzonspor, while Erdogan plays for CamialtısporFC in semi-professional terms.

“Erdogan himself first started his national career as mayor of Istanbul and publicly stated that those who win in Istanbul will win the national election,” Meral said, adding that this prediction proved the predictions that were many years ago were correct.