Turkish authorities have ordered the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with around 100 other people, prosecutors said on Wednesday, according to state-run news agency Anadolu Agency.
The order comes just days before the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is scheduled to hold a primary election, where Imamoglu was expected to be chosen as its presidential candidate.
“I am saddened to say, a handful of people who are trying to steal the will of the people, have sent the dear police, the security forces implicating them in this wrongful doing,” Imamoglu said in a video posted to X on Wednesday.
“Hundreds of police officers have been sent to the door my house — the house of the 16 million people of Istanbul.”
The move to detain the mayor of Turkey’s largest city, a key political battleground, comes after Istanbul University said on Tuesday it had annulled Imamoglu’s degree over irregularities, dealing a blow to the opposition days before it was set to pick him as its presidential candidate in the next election.
Without a university degree, Imamoglu of the main opposition CHP, cannot stand as a candidate for president.
Imamoglu said the university’s decision was illegal and outside its jurisdiction, and that he would launch a legal challenge “The decision of the Istanbul University Board of Directors is UNLAWFUL” he said. “The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near.”
Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest and most populous city in 2019. The next presidential vote is scheduled for 2028, but early elections are likely.
This is a developing story and will be updated.