Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who faced criticism for his disappearances amid mounting problems in Türkiye’s most populated city, is back on the road again. Unlike his previous disappearances where he embarked on nationwide political trips for his party, Imamoğlu follows a personal dream this time.
The mayor for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) launched a brief tour of Türkiye for his campaign as the presidential candidate for CHP for 2028 elections, or if CHP has its way, an early election. Imamoğlu is not formally a candidate for CHP but a bizarre political tradition forced the party to hold an intraparty election for voting for a potential presidential candidate. Imamoğlu is the only person running in this election set for March 23 after 116 lawmakers supported him in a February race where he was the only candidate after a rival dropped out when he failed to garner intraparty votes.
Now in his second tenure as Istanbul mayor, Imamoğlu aspires to run against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in any election, though latter’s eligibility was questioned by the CHP. Erdoğan signaled he was ready to run again in 2028 though current laws may prevent him and require ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to nominate someone else. A legal amendment to ensure his run will require the CHP’s support. The CHP was initially open to the idea but appears to have mixed feelings about it. Imamoğlu, on the other hand, directed all his barbs at Erdoğan on his campaign trail.
He appears to pick Erdoğan as his future rival, claiming the president (who never lost an election himself in more than two decades) was afraid of his victory.
Imamoğlu launched his campaign in Izmir, a longstanding CHP stronghold in western Türkiye. His first stopover was the grave of Zübeyde Hanım, mother of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye as well as the CHP. His choice of first stopover points out that he would first seek to drum up support of die-hard CHP supporters instead of diversifying his potential electorate. From Izmir he traveled to the Anatolian heartland Kayseri on Saturday and was in the southern province of Adana on Sunday. He pointed out that the CHP emerged the winner in the March 2024 municipal elections and now it was “time to change Türkiye.”
The mayor’s chances appear slimmer than Mansur Yavaş, Ankara mayor for CHP, who was viewed as a favorite for presidential candidate, before he was ruled out for the race when he opposed the intraparty election, saying it was “too early to rally for an election.”
Imamoğlu was among the potential vice president picks of former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu who unsuccessfully ran against Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential elections. When Kılıçdaroğlu lost, Imamoğlu joined circles within the party lobbying against Kılıçdaroğlu and supported current chair Özgür Özel who ended the lengthy rule of Kılıçdaroğlu in November 2023.
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