Sparking crises, Erdogan’s new plan to bring down İmamoglu

Shaimaa Hefzy

Supporters of the Turkish Justice and Development (AKP), led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have started sparking crises to hinder Ekrem İmamoglu from becoming the new mayor of Istanbul after the party failed to grab the post.

Ekrem İmamoglu, the candidate for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the re-run of Istanbul local elections won a landslide victory on June 23 over Erdogan’s AKP candidate, former prime minister Binali Yildirim.

The early results showed a difference about 800 thousand votes. The March 31 local election for Istanbul when İmamoglu won with 13 thousand votes, was cancelled by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) upon Erdogan ‘s persistent objections.

Erdogan has cast a long shadow over Turkish politics during more than a quarter-century in politics. He has consolidated power in his person to what many say is the detriment of Turkish democracy.

In remarks, Erdogan threatened İmamoglu before the elections that he will not be able to work even he won the elections because AKP members constitute a majority in the municipal council.

After this threat, Erdogan hinted that his party’s members were planning to block decisions from the council until İmamoglu fails in his mission after his reputation lowers among the people of Istanbul.

According to local Turkish newspapers, the transport crisis was the beginning of the plan to obstruct İmamoglu; transportation crises began the day after the elections, with busses and trains did not operate at full capacity despite that it was Monday.

Moreover, train drivers did not operate air conditions claiming that they needed maintenance, despite high temperature. Also, bus lines to the Istanbul airport did not operate, not to mention an error at the Istanbul Carrier Accounting System, to collect excess funds from citizens.

Opposition newspapers warn that the coming period will witness further surprises in order to block the new Istanbul mayor, who has become the most prominent name in the Turkish political scene recently.

Erdogan’s party seeks to bring down İmamoglu, not only for leadership, but to limit the role of Istanbul’s new mayor who became a direct threat to Erdogan’s throne.

According to analysts, the local Turkish elections held last June revealed that the Turkish people are disturbed by the ruling party and its way of administration and are looking for alternatives.

Mr. Imamoglu, 49, was backed by an alliance of opposition parties, united by their rejection of Mr. Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian grip on Turkey.

Besides the blow to Mr. Erdogan’s image and prestige, the loss of Istanbul has practical political consequences for him, analysts said. The city is Mr. Erdogan’s home and political base, where he began his political career as mayor.