Barring Istanbul mayor from Turkish presidential bid would only boost opposition, party leader says

Turkey's main opposition leader said on Thursday any move to legally bar Istanbul's detained mayor from running for president would only strengthen support for their party, and that any candidate would beat President Tayyip Erdogan in elections. 

In an interview with Reuters a day after Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's chief political rival, was detained and charged, Ozgur Ozel, chairman of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said Erdogan feared any future vote. 

Erdogan wants to appoint a trustee to replace Imamoglu, also from the CHP, and sever the opposition's ties with Turkey's largest city, Ozel said, in his first interview with foreign media since the mayor's detention.

The government rejects the opposition criticism, says the judiciary is independent and has warned against tying Erdogan or politics to Imamoglu's arrest.

Imamoglu, seen as the CHP's best hope to unseat Erdogan after 22 years running Turkey, was detained in Wednesday facing charges of graft and aiding a terrorist group, a move that the opposition condemned as a "coup attempt" and that sparked nationwide demonstrations.

Ozel, who has been staying at the Istanbul Municipality headquarters building since police detained Imamoglu, said it would not stop the CHP from naming him as the party's presidential candidate for the next elections.

"At the moment, Ekrem Imamoglu's freedoms are restricted, he is detained. But this doesn't change the (primary) ballot we will set up on Sunday, and Ekrem Imamoglu is our candidate at that ballot," Ozel said, walking through the small room in which he sleeps in the municipality headquarters.

"We will support this candidacy until the end, all together. Even if Ekrem Imamoglu is arrested, Ekrem Imamoglu is our candidate."

The CHP is set to hold an internal vote to elect a candidate for the presidential elections and Imamoglu is the sole name up for selection.

The next presidential election is set for 2028 but Erdogan has reached his two-term limit as president after having earlier served as prime minister. If he wishes to run again he must call an early election or change the constitution.

Imamoglu's detention came a day after Istanbul University annulled his degree, which if upheld would block him from running in presidential elections.

A government appointee could replace the mayor if he is legally arrested as part of the probe charging him with aiding the PKK, which is deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies.

If Imamoglu is legally barred from running, the CHP has a "plan B, plan C", Ozel said, adding he believed any candidate from the opposition would be able to defeat Erdogan and that they are "not without alternatives".

"We are ready to show the strongest democratic reaction, street by street, square by square," Ozel said when asked about a possible trustee appointment, adding that their protests will remain within the limit of public order.

Erdogan, 71, faced his worst electoral defeat in nationwide municipal elections last year, when Imamoglu's CHP swept Turkey's major cities and defeated his ruling AK Party in former strongholds.

"In the event Imamoglu's candidacy is blocked, we believe this will turn into a much greater support," Ozel said. 

"We will win with Imamoglu. We will win easily. If Imamoglu is barred, we will certainly win."