İstanbul mayor says Turkey's democracy marred by polarization, unfair elections

Click to read the article in Turkish

During the commemoration ceremony of the 570th anniversary of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu delivered a speech encouraging the public to "not lose hope" following the election outcomes.

After securing slightly over 52 percent of the votes in the second round of the presidential election held on Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected. Additionally, the ruling People's Alliance obtained a majority in the parliamentary elections on May 14.

İmamoğlu, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), was one of the seven individuals informally nominated as vice presidential candidates by CHP leader and presidential candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. He was actively involved in Kılıçdaroğlu's election campaign.

İmamoğlu, while evaluating the results of the second round of the presidential election, emphasized that the electoral process was conducted under unjust conditions.

"Language of polarization"

"I hope the outcome will bring prosperity to our country. In the face of the challenges posed by the ruling power, the Nation Alliance was unable to secure victory in the election. I am saddened," he said.

"The people have bestowed their trust in the candidate of the People's Alliance. We have no excuses, but we must acknowledge the existence of unfair circumstances. Unfortunately, there was the language of polarization, insults, and slander. We will rectify these issues.

"Throughout this process, we were unable to fully mobilize the spirit that would reflect the society's profound desire in the ballot boxes."

Also pointing out a court case against him, İmamoğlu said, "Neither you nor your fabricated judicial rulings can ever take over İstanbul."

In November, the mayor was given a prison sentence for "insulting public officials" due to his remarks about the 2019 local election, which was repeated in İstanbul in a controversial decision by the election authority. İmamoğlu will be banned from politics if the verdict is upheld. (AS/VK)