On March 23, the court of Türkiye formally arrested President Erdogan's biggest political enemy on bribery charges——Istanbul Mayor Imam Oulu. Türkiye's police said that Imamoglu was suspected of leading criminal organizations, bribery, manipulating bidding and assisting terrorist organizations. Imamoglu denied all charges, and the opposition condemned the move as politically motivated.  

It is understood that this yearImam Olu, 54, is from the Republic People's Party, Türkiye's largest opposition party. The party was scheduled to announce him as a candidate for the 2028 presidential election recently. He defeated the candidate of Erdogan Chin in two local elections. After the detention of Imamoglu, large-scale protests broke out in Türkiye's major cities, including Istanbul, the capital Ankara, Izmir and other places for several consecutive days. 

This issue's hot event tracking will sort out the political turmoil caused by this protest.

Large scale anti-government demonstrations in Türkiye

On March 23rd,More than 10 cities in Türkiye, including Istanbul, the largest city, and Ankara, the capital, witnessed large-scale demonstrations to protest the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Imam Olu, which is also the largest street demonstration in Türkiye in more than 10 years. Protests near Istanbul City Hall have escalated into clashes between police and civilians, with riot police usingtear gasDrive away the demonstrators. Ozel, leader of Türkiye's opposition Republican People's Party, said that the demonstrators came from all political parties to express their support for Imamoglu and defend democracy.

Mayor of Istanbul, Türkiye is dismissed

March 24thTürkiye's Interior Ministry said Monday that the mayor of Istanbul, Imam Olu, had been removed from office after a Türkiye court formally arrested him for corruption. After Imam Oulu's dismissal, the Istanbul City Council is expected to elect an acting mayor in the coming days.  

More than 10 million people in Türkiye support Imamoglu as the presidential candidate

On April 2, Türkiye's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party, held a primary election. About 15 million people voted, of which more than 13 million non party members voted in favor of Imamoglu as the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party. The authorities' actions against Imam Oulu have sparked widespread public protests, believing it to be a political persecution.

Political hunting and terrorletTürkiye Goes Back to Turbulence

Under the smoke of tear gas on the streets of Istanbul, Türkiye is deeply involved in the struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. President Erdogan's expansion of power through constitutional amendment“Strongman Politics”After the opposition broke through power fortresses such as Istanbul, cracks appeared——The inflation rate of over 50% has doubled the price of bread in a year, leading to Kurdish conflicts, the decline of secular traditions, and the use of justice as a tool, like three sharp blades cutting apart society.

When anti-corruption mayor Imam Oulu“Clean Water Engineering”When winning the hearts of the people, the authorities quickly took action“Involved in terrorism”“corruption” The arrest of the accused exposed the cruel nature of power games in this political hunt. Created an annual averageThe Erdogan economics of a 5.6% growth miracle has now faded amidst the wave of youth unemployment and the collapse of the lira (65% depreciation in five years).

Supporters of Imam Oulu crossed religious and ethnic barriers and formed a coalition on the squareThe Democratic United Front. But the government's tough measures are worrying: ten years ago, the crackdown in Gezi Park caused the ruling party's polls to plummet, and now the number of protesters is ten times higher than before. If we continue to use nationalism to transfer contradictions, Türkiye will repeat the turmoil before the military intervention in 1997, and let the Star Moon Flag fall into the hurricane eye of democratic pain.