Less than a month removed from a verdict that threatens to ban him from politics, a new corruption charge has been opened against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a popular opposition politician whom many see as a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the upcoming presidential election this spring.
The fresh charge, announced yesterday (January 11), centers on construction tenders awarded by İmamoğlu while serving as governor of Beylikdüzü, a suburban district situated on the western edges of the Istanbul metropolis. İmamoğlu served as governor of this district from 2014-2019, prior to his election as Istanbul’s mayor.
The Interior Ministry’s announcement of the new charge against İmamoğlu marks the continuation of several storylines that have dogged the Istanbul Mayor during his recent tenure. Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has recently become the mayor’s arch-enemy; the two were embroiled in a bitter and public spat last month in which Soylu made accusations of terrorist connections amongst numerous employees of the Istanbul Municipality which İmamoğlu heads. The dubious allegations by Soylu led to a public back-and-forth between the two men, which ended in İmamoğlu calling for Soylu’s resignation, a call that has remained unheeded. The Interior Minister is among the most outspoken and polarizing figures in the upper ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), frequently putting forward accusations of terrorism and corruption allegations against political foes. İmamoğlu’s victory in the repeat Istanbul mayoral election in 2019 following nearly two decades of AKP control has made the mayor a frequent target for ruling party officials hoping to remove him from office.
İmamoğlu’s potential candidacy in the upcoming presidential election has added extra weight to the recent charges against the mayor. The date of the first hearing in the fresh corruption case, June 15 2023, happens to fall three days before the originally planned date for the presidential election on June 18. The AKP has recently indicated that they plan to move the election to an earlier date in the spring. In any case, a guilty verdict could spell doom for İmamoğlu’s potential candidacy and presidency. It would also deliver a major blow to the opposition’s prospects of defeating Erdoğan, as opinion polls have consistently shown the mayor as among the best positioned to end the president’s 20-year tenure.
A verdict in mid-December found İmamoğlu guilty of ‘insulting public officials’, a charge that carries a two and a half year jail sentence and a ban from politics. The case stems from comments made by İmamoğlu in 2019, after his victory in Istanbul’s local elections were annulled by the High Election Council. Responding to Interior Minister Soylu’s comments saying İmamoğlu was a ‘fool’, the newly elected mayor said “Those who annulled the election are fools,” landing the mayor in hot water. İmamoğlu would go on to win the repeat mayoral election later that year. The results of the December’s verdict have been appealed but if upheld, it would spell the end of İmamoğlu’s political career, regardless of the outcome of this week’s corruption charge.
Regarding the new corruption charge, İmamoğlu’s lawyer Kemal Polat made the following statement:
“Although the judges determined that Mayor İmamoğlu did not have any involvement, instruction, direction, authority, signature, etc. regarding the tender processes, this lawsuit has been filed by the prosecutor’s office without considering this information. The prosecutor’s office must make an evaluation of the corruption allegation, and this case has been opened without having made any such evaluation.”
The charge concerns a construction tender awarded by then-district governor İmamoğlu. The complaint was originally filed by a construction company that has lost the bidding process, in which they claimed the winning company did not have the necessary qualifications to be awarded the tender. The case against İmamoğlu threatens to carry a seven-year prison sentence, a ban from politics, and a 250,000 ($13,300) Lira fine.
