The next day of the arrest of Mayor of Constantinople (20/3) found Turkey in complete turmoil.
The arrest of Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most powerful opponent, who, according to experts, aims to remove all possible claimants of power in the 2028 elections, sparked strong reactions and took thousands of Turks on the streets, who marched on the streets.
Protests erupted in Turkey calling for Erdogan’s resignation with a nation wide media blackout. Why isn’t the mainstream media covering this?
– Hadi (@hadinasrallah)
Erdogan’s Turkey is moving from “an open authoritarian regime to a Russian or Belarusian type, a fully authoritarian, authoritarian regime,” Istanbul’s Ozyegin University Professor Murat Somer told CNN.
According to him, Imamoglu’s arrest seems to be a “very well -designed and orchestrated effort that started last fall”. Whether the opposition will be able to survive this effort remains to be seen.
What did Imamoglu said through prison
To maintain contact with his supporters, Erem Imoglu tries through prison. “This nation is great,” he wrote in X along with a video of the mass protests made after his booking.
This nation is great!
– Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu)
He also uploaded videos with his speeches. “No power can stand in the way of solidarity and hope. Our struggle is for our children, for rights, for laws, for justice, for a better tomorrow. “
No force can stand before solidarity and hope. Our struggle is for our children, for the right, for law, for justice, for beautiful tomorrows.
– Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu)
His voice was even heard at the Constantinople subway stations and in his message, addressing Erdogan, he told him “challenge you”.
Episodes in mass demonstrations
Defying the prohibition of demonstrations imposed by authorities in Turkey for four days,
“We are here to support Imamoglou. They imprisoned him for no apparent reason. He is against democracy and everyone must come here to demonstrate and support him. Apparently, Mr. Erdogan is trying to clear his way, ”said one of the protesters.
Turkish police used plastic spheres and tear gas towards the crowd at the Istanbul City Hall. The call had made Imamoglou’s Chp party.
Protestors took to the streets in Istanbul, Turkey to protest against gender violence and discrimination. Watch as police ruthlessly unload rubber bullets into the crowd. This is life under Pres. Erdogan.
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke)
“I don’t want to see plastic bullets here. If not, the Istanbul police will be responsible for what happens. Who are you who will spray Turkey’s hope with tear gas? ” He warned from a bus to which Chp President Ozgur Ezel had climbed, while the crowd was shouting Erdogan to resign.
Despite trying to ban protests for 4 days after police in Turkey have arrested the mayor of Istanbul and Erdogan’s presidential rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, student protesters at Istanbul University are out protesting!
Erdoğan has gotta go!
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee)
Erdogan: accuses the opposition for theatricals
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first comment came on the day after the arrest of Imamoglu. .
“We do not have the time to waste in unnecessary discussions or stacks of money to throw them away,” he said in Ankara. The problems of the People’s Republican Party “are not the issues of the country, but of a handful of opportunists. We do not have time to waste on opposition theatrics, “he added.
‘Healthy of political absurdity’
after the arrest of the Mayor of Constantinople. AKP spokesman Omer Celik, in a speech in Ankara, described these accusations as a “peak of political absurdity”.
Celik denied that President Erdogan’s party had anything to do with the arrest warrants of the Imamoglou and 105 more in relation to the case.
‘Great threat’
Imamoglou, one of Turkey’s most popular political personalities ,. Erdogan extended his sovereignty after his victory in the 2023 presidential election, securing a second term. His party, however, did not secure the key city, Constantinople, where he was mayor before becoming president, who remains in the hands of Imamoglou and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
After winning a second term, Erdogan was determined to take the city back in the March 2024 municipal elections, in which Imamoglu again became a winner with 51.14% of the vote.
“Erdogan sees Imamoglou a key contender,” Soner Captagay, a senior associate and director of the Turkish research program at the Washington Political Institute, based in Washington, told CNN.
Both leaders come from the Black Sea coast and, like Erdogan, used his municipality in Constantinople in the 1990s to convince voters that he could command Turkey well, “Imoglou has created the same trademark,” he said. “This was a very big threat to Erdogan and he decided to stifle it in his birth.”
Imamoglou is on the orbit of leading one day in the country. According to some polls if he came down to the president against Erdogan, he would secure more votes.
“Imamoglou is extremely popular,” Soner said, adding that he is particularly capable of drawing support even from camps that are traditionally in favor of Erdogan. “This is of course extremely threatening for Erdogan,” he said.
The consequences on Turkey’s economy
Two years of hard work to regain the confidence of international investors in Turkey’s recovery were essentially lost after the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu.
Turkey’s bonds and stock markets had attracted world money managers, as the 40% -50% painful high interest rates used by the neighboring country to confront the inflation demons fled investors after a series of monetary crises.
Turkey has been a busy destination for global markets in recent years, experts say. In the last 12 months, its counterparts, in local currency, reached 18.5%, the second best in the world after South Africa and quadrupled the average of the world’s emerging markets 4.7%, according to Reuters.
Turkish assets had enjoyed some worldwide profits and. The arrest of Imamoglou was the culmination of a long -term aggressive repression against other opposition officials, who was criticized as a politicized attempt to silence the disagreement.
Blow to investor confidence
Kan Nazli, Neuberger Berman’s emerging portfolio manager, described the latest events as “a serious blow to investor confidence in the financial stabilization program”.
Investors hoped that politics would go secondary by 2028, when the next presidential election would be held. Nazli also pointed out the risk of terrorizing the Turks from turning their savings into dollars or euros again, as in previous crises.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, an architect of Turkey’s recovery efforts from his appointment in 2023, said authorities are doing whatever is necessary to ensure the healthy markets of markets.
