Özgür Özel, the leader of Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), announced on Saturday that the party plans to hold weekly rallies in Istanbul and in all provinces of Türkiye.
Earlier that day, the Republican People’s Party held its rally not in the traditional Saraçane Square in central Istanbul, but in the Maltepe district on the Asian side of the city, a long way from the center.
Ozil announced on the social network “X”: “This is just the beginning. From now on, we will be in the squares every weekend in a province and every Wednesday in one of the districts of Istanbul.”
During the rally, Özel expressed his support for Ekrem İmamoğlu, the detained mayor of Istanbul, and called for early presidential elections. The leader of the Turkish opposition party claimed that 2 million citizens participated in the rally, although no official or independent estimate has confirmed this figure.
Özel also announced the launch of a nationwide campaign to collect signatures to call for early elections and the release of Imamoğlu, the party’s candidate in the upcoming elections.
Turkish officials have repeatedly stressed that early elections are not on the agenda and that the next presidential election is scheduled for spring 2028.
The Republican People’s Party aims to collect around 28 million signatures, equivalent to the number of votes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received in the previous election.
Since March 19, despite an official ban on all gatherings and demonstrations, protests in support of the detained mayor of Istanbul have been held across Istanbul and other cities in Türkiye.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Thursday that more than 1,800 pro-Imamoglu protesters had been detained across the country, with 260 people arrested for participating in unauthorized demonstrations. The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced that Imamoglu was detained in a case related to an organization involved in corruption, bribery and financial abuse.
In early March, in his first remarks after the mayor’s arrest, Erdogan said that the country’s opposition had “lost its balance” and resorted to threatening police, judges, prosecutors and courts, Novosti reported. He also said that the ruling Justice and Development Party and the ruling coalition “have no chance to fight the opposition.”
