Opponents of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gather in Maltepe on Saturday to protest the government arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imanoglu. (Kemal Aslan/AFP/Getty Images)
ISTANBUL — Growing anger over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key political challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, erupted Saturday into one of the biggest demonstrations Turkey has seen in years.
The event was called by Turkey’s leading opposition party, which is trying to channel spontaneous public anger over Imamoglu’s arrest into a sustained political movement capable of defeating Erdogan after more than two decades in power.
“We have left our fear at home,” said Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the secular opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, of which Imamoglu is a member.
At least tens of thousands of people attended the rally in Istanbul. (Organizers claimed more than 2 million, a figure that could not be independently verified.) CHP officials have said similar rallies will be held across Turkey until early elections are called. The next scheduled election is in 2028.
“This is only the beginning of a long period of democratization efforts,” said Berk Esen, an associate professor of political science at Sabanci University.
He said the opposition’s momentum could become a serious challenge for Erdogan, “who knows he will not be able to win an election unless he dramatically reorganizes or reshapes the opposition.”
The arrest of Imamoglu on corruption charges ignited protests in at least 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, including conservative Erdogan strongholds in the Anatolian heartland and along the country’s Black Sea coast. Imamoglu has denied wrongdoing. Opposition supporters believe he’s one of the only leaders who could defeat Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party.
But the protests appeared to lose some momentum in recent days as authorities arrested over 1,900 people, including journalists. Erdogan called the demonstrations a “movement of violence” and said Imamoglu’s party would be held “accountable” for injuries to police officers or damage to property — “politically in parliament and legally by the judiciary.” The Saturday rally was the first major gathering since nightly demonstrations outside Istanbul’s city hall ended on Tuesday.
The rally Saturday, unlike previous gatherings, was legally registered and took place in broad daylight on the cosmopolitan outskirts of Istanbul’s Asian side. CHP officials sought to address a wide coalition of “democrats,” including conservatives, liberals, nationalists and Kurds.
An AI voice mimicking Imamoglu’s read out a speech he had apparently written from prison. “The people of this nation are big, they are big — they are bigger than any party that’s in power,” the voice said to loud applause.
Imamoglu’s victory in the Istanbul mayoral election in 2019 was a major blow to Erdogan. The party of the president, who had campaigned directly against Imamoglu, disputed the results. In a rerun, Imamoglu won by a far greater margin.
The CHP’s best chance of defeating Erdogan lies in winning over a broad spectrum of Turkey’s voters, who are reeling from a cost-of-living crisis brought on by high inflation.
The demonstrations have been led largely by university students and other young people, who continue to organize gatherings on campuses across the country. At many schools — including Imamoglu’s alma mater, Istanbul University, which revoked his diploma, rendering him ineligible to run for president — students have boycotted their classes.
Cemre Çalışkan, a 28-year-old web editor at Saturday’s rally, said she has supported political rivals of the CHP in the past but felt obliged to stand with the party this week. “Those of us who have different beliefs but who all want to protect our civil rights should unite,” she said.
But building a wide and varied movement to defeat Erdogan could prove challenging. Turkey’s opposition in the past has been fragmented. To maintain unity and momentum, Esen said, the CHP must continue mobilizing. But this might be easier said than done.
Among the protesters who overcame personal fear to attend Saturday’s rally, some said they felt an unprecedented sense of urgency.
Erdogan’s allies are accused of tightening their control over state institutions and restricting speech and expression. Some in the opposition worry that time is running out.
Ebrar, a 23-year-old university student, said she had wanted to take part in the kinds of street protests that have rocked Turkey over the past days, but was always too scared. “There is no knowing what will happen to us,” she said, speaking on the condition that her last name be withheld out of concern her comment might draw government scrutiny.
“I am here because this crowd needs to be seen,” she said.