ISTANBUL: Threemonths ago Ekrem Imamoglu was a little-known politician in a fringe Istanbuldistrict who was attempting the near-impossible: to unseat Turkish PresidentTayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party from Turkey's largest city after 25 years inpower. Today - after having pulled off victory in March to become Istanbulmayor, only to be ousted in May - he has emerged as a national sensation andfigurehead for the Turkish opposition.
His victory overthe AK Party (AKP) in the municipal vote dealt Erdogan one of the worstsetbacks in his 16 years of power. But Imamoglu had been in office less thanthree weeks when Turkey's High Election Board annulled the results, citingirregularities, after weeks of appeals by the AKP. Now the 49-year-old istrying to win again in a re-run of the mayoral vote today, this time against anAKP machine that has zeroed in on him with accusations of lying and terroristassociations as well as legal threats.
Imamoglu hasdenied the allegations from Erdogan, Turkey's foreign minister and his AKPmayoral opponent Binali Yildirim, a former prime minister. In response theformer businessman has tried to stick to the low-key inclusive message thathanded him a narrow victory in the first campaign. There are indications thescrapping of the election results, which many voters say was unjust, hasactually served to bolster his popular support.
Recent polls giveImamoglu of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) a lead of as much asnine percentage points over Yildirim of the Islamist-rooted AKP, far largerthan his 0.2 percentage-point victory on March 31. With his signature rimlesseyeglasses and "Everything will be fine" slogan on billboards acrossIstanbul, Imamoglu has sought to leverage the election board's decision toannul the results over irregularities including polling officials who were notcivil servants.
"Of coursewe have a different agenda item in this election and that is democracy (forwhich) we are at a turning point," he told Reuters this week. "Ouremphasis on the injustice and lawless intervention ... will continue until thelast minute."
Big rallies
On ThursdayErdogan, who served as Istanbul's mayor in the 1990s, accused Imamoglu ofcheating in a televised debate by seeing the questions ahead of time, withoutciting evidence. The Turkish leader has accused Imamoglu of being in cahootswith US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara says is a terrorist andblames for a 2016 failed putsch.
He also saidImamoglu allegedly insulted the governor of Ordu, a Black Sea coastal province,and added that if prosecuted over the issue, he could be barred from officeeven if he wins. The annulment of Imamoglu's victory, and attacks on hischaracter, have however had the effect of raising his profile at home andabroad.
His rallies thismonth before thousands of CHP supporters, including on a three-city tour ofTurkey's Black Sea coast, are a far cry from the small face-to-face gatheringsand Facebook videos favoured in his initial campaign. "Do you know what apolitical party opting to hurl constant insults and slander at its opponentshows? It shows that they know they have lost," he told a rally onWednesday. Some media commentators have even earmarked him as a potentialpresidential candidate.
"There'sthis expectation that he is likely to be the face of the opposition," saidDeniz Zeyrek, a journalist at opposition newspaper Sozcu. "I believe hewill be in Turkey's political future, even if he loses." Imamoglu has alsobeen the subject of feature articles in Western magazines and newspapers. Thismonth he authored a column in the Washington Post, pledging to win again."I see little reason why Imamoglu would lose votes on June 23," saidHoward Eissenstat, nonresident senior fellow at Washington-based think-tank theProject on Middle East Democracy.
But he added thatImamoglu would want to win with a bigger margin to earn a definitive victoryand put an end to any potential claims of irregularities. However someacademics warn that Imamoglu could overplay his hand. "His challenge is touse the cult of victimhood but still be defiant," said Galip Dalay,visiting scholar at the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and InternationalRelations. "Too many big things - rallies, comments on national issues -that could backfire." - Reuters