Explainer
What Arrest of Erdogan’s Top Rival Means for Turkey
A poster of Ekrem Imamoglu in the Fatih district of Istanbul.
Photographer: Kerem Uzel/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A Turkish court jailed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most prominent rival, arresting him on corruption charges on Sunday, in what critics say is a major blow to democracy. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who was preparing to announce his candidacy in the presidential vote for 2028, has now been removed from the electoral grid.
The authorities had already revoked Imamoglu’s university diploma — a mandatory requirement to run for the presidency — on March 18. With court cases and the appeals process likely spanning years, he might face many years in jail.