Ankara Mayor Yavaş backs Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu who is facing political ban
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, from the CHP, has thrown his support behind Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as the latter is facing a political ban on alleged charges of "insulting" members of Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK).
Duvar English
Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has backed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, from the same party, over the judicial case the latter is facing.
Speaking during an opening ceremony in the capital Ankara, Yavaş said, “These lawsuits are political. We stand by İmamoğlu until the end. I hope that no wrong decision will be made and the country will return to its real agenda. We have only one responsibility and that is how to provide a better service to Turkey.”
“I am in favor of the acquittal as soon as possible, we are behind Imamoğlu until the end. We definitely believe that (İmamoğlu) will be acquitted,” he added.
A Turkish court in December 2023 sentenced Mayor İmamoğlu to two years and seven months in prison on charges of “insulting” 11 members of Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK).
The court also imposed a political ban on İmamoğlu, a popular rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which must be confirmed by an appeals court before application.
The appeals court will reportedly make a decision in the case in the upcoming days.
İmamoğlu was accused of insulting 11 members of the YSK while talking about the board's decision to annul and rerun the March 31st Istanbul mayoral election in 2019.
The YSK did not recognize İmamoğlu's initial victory in the 2019 local elections and ordered a repeat vote in which İmamoğlu won again with a larger difference against his opponent AKP’s Binali Yıldırım.
Then-Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Nov. 4, 2019, said that, “The idiot who went to the European Parliament and complained about Turkey. This nation will make you pay for this," referring to İmamoğlu.
In response, İmamoğlu said, “Those who cancel the election on March 31 are idiots.”
İmamoğlu has been tried for the alleged charge of “publicly insulting public officials working as a board due to their duties.” He rejected the claims, saying that his remark was against Soylu, not YSK members.
Meanwhile, Yavaş also commented on a possible stir between him and İmamoğlu for the presidential candidacy. “They are deliberately stirring up the controversy. They want to drive a wedge between us. We always say that if our party nominates me as a candidate, I will run. I will not waste my time more.”
İmamoğlu and Yavaş are seen as favorites for CHP’s presidential candidate in the upcoming election scheduled to be held in 2028. There are rumors that the two are in a race against each other to be nominated.