According to the publication Journal of Democracy in 2024: “Less than a year after a bitter loss, the opposition dealt Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his ruling party their largest electoral defeat in decades. The question is whether they can now build on their success.”
The opposition “Republican People’s Party (CHP) is now the governing party in six of Turkey’s seven largest and most economically vibrant cities, and controls 35 of the 81 provinces.”
Erdogan and the AKP don’t take losing well. Likely because the principal opposition leader, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, enjoys considerable support, he was arbitrarily detained on “corruption” suspicions — which are often conjured up against anyone who threatens Erdogan’s authority or leadership. Imamoglu was then arrested, interrogated, jailed, and stripped of his title as mayor.
Imamoglu is likely the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan.
The furious protests that subsequently erupted in Turkey should now be worrying to Erdogan. What happened next is potentially disastrous for Erdogan. Despite Imamoglu’s incarceration, the opposition party officially nominated him anyway as its presidential candidate for the 2028 elections. The numbers in support of him were overwhelming. “Some 15 million people voted in Sunday’s primary to choose a presidential candidate for Turkey’s opposition CHP party,” said “vote organizers” at Istanbul City Hall.
Most stunning was that out of the 15 million, a whopping 88% stood in solidarity with Imamoglu.
The plot to disgrace and incarcerate Imamoglu has clearly backfired. The concern now is what will happen to Imamoglu between now and 2028. Should anything happen, Erdogan has been forewarned of a potentially massive uprising, which is long overdue, given the path Erdogan has led Turkey along.
Istanbul’s embattled Ekrem Imamoglu was officially nominated as a presidential candidate by the opposition CHP party for the 2028 elections, a party spokesman told AFP news agency on Monday.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) – the main opposition party and the second-largest party in parliament – held a primary election on Sunday, in which the only candidate was Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Imamoglu has been arrested, interrogated, jailed and stripped of his mayorship in less than a week following a graft and terror probe that the opposition has slammed as a political “coup”. He has denied the charges.
Imamoglu’s arrest and jailing drew a sharp condemnation late Sunday from France’s foreign ministry, which denounced his imprisonment as “a serious attack on democracy”.
The announcement came after Imamoglu spent his first night in jail, a day after his suspension as mayor, as 10 journalists were detained for covering the mass demonstrations that his detention sparked across Turkey.
The protests began in Istanbul after Imamoglu’s arrest on Wednesday and have since spread to more than 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, sparking clashes with riot police in the country’s worst street protests in more than a decade….
Tony Rice says
World leaders should shun Erdogan , he is an embarrassment to civilised societies. Obviously not too well like by his own. Has jailed thousands of reporters, teachers, local politicians in his time. A DICTATOR except in name.
Beneath the Veil of Consciousness says
Underlying all of this is the scourge of Islam. Everytime I board a plane, I think of the Islamic Terror tax this dhimmi is forced to pay out in order to insure his safety.
GE says
Unless Erdogan loses support of the army, I don’t hold out much hope. There’s still too many supporters in the boondocks.
The lure of a reinstated caliphate is too much for the Islamic supremacists in Turkey to resist.
I’ll believe he gets ousted when I see it.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Unlike Russia, I don’t believe that the Turkish populace is innocent. I believe that they are pretty proud of their Ottoman heritage, and have totally bought into Erdogan’s revanchist objectives
I also don’t believe that anybody in his opposition is either genuinely secular (even Kemal Ataturk wasn’t) or disowns Turkish supremacy. Therefore, I am no more supportive of such candidates than I’d be of Fatah or Pali “moderates” over Hamas or islamic jihad
I also don’t believe that Turkey can be tariffed into good behavior, which is the favorite tool of the current administration
JS says
Infidel – I completely agree with your sentiments but would still like to see Erdogan out. He’s a devious liar and a complete Islamic supremacist that cannot be trusted! (although they all seem to be). However, there is nothing better than to see them fight each other. Remember when Bush said “I will turn them against each other.” That may be the best plan still today. Let them fight each other, they’ll blame the U.S. and west ANYWAY, like they were blaming US and Israel when the Syrians killed the Alawites.
The article states: “The plot to disgrace and incarcerate Imamoglu has clearly backfired. The concern now is what will happen to Imamoglu between now and 2028.”
I do not believe Imamoglu will make it to 2028, not if it is shown that he can beat the despot Erdogan. Will Erdogan wait and see if Imanoglu remains a threat in the coming couple years, or find a way to eliminate him sooner?
skeptiker says
Dasselbe Strickmuster wie in Deutschland. Der Bürger kann wählen was er will, es spielt keine Rolle. Ein Parteienkartell aus Grünen, SPD und CDU/CSU haben sich das Land zur Beute gemacht und verfolgen, wie in der Türkei, jede Opposition. Die Medien sind gleichgeschaltet, die Justiz agiert als verlängerter Arm der Regierenden und betreibt politische Verfolgung..
Die scheinheilige Kritik an Erdogans Vorgehen aus deren Mündern ist wie immer eine Verhöhnung des Bürgers.