ISTANBUL (AP) — Istanbul’s popular mayor went on trial Thursday on charges of being involved in alleged bid-rigging in a tender dating back to 2015. Critics have called the trial another “conspiracy.” with political motivations with the aim of removing the opposition politician from the political stage.
Ekrem Imamoglu, who is widely seen as a possible future leader of the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, faces up to seven years in prison and a political ban if found guilty of the charge , which derives from the time he was mayor of the Istanbul district of Beylikduzu. He served in this office from 2014 to 2019, when he became mayor of Istanbul.
Last year, a court convicted Imamoglu of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council and sentenced him to more than two years and seven months in prison. The court also imposed a political ban that could lead to his removal from office.
The mayor, who denies insulting the members of the electoral council, is appealing his conviction.
In the new case, Imamoglu is accused of having awarded the tender to a company that allegedly did not meet the required conditions, causing financial losses to the municipality of Beylikduzu. His office denies the allegation and says it was raised even though the court of accounts had previously cleared Imamoglu of the charge.
Imamoglu did not attend Thursday’s hearing. Six of his former colleagues from Beylikduzu Municipality are also on trial.
“This is a political plot,” said Gokhan Gunaydin, a CHP lawmaker who attended the trial. “This case will explode in the hands of those who opened it.”
Imamoglu, 52, was elected to lead Istanbul in March 2019. His victory was a historic blow for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter of a century . The party lobbied to annul the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.
The challenge led to a repeat election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won.
Erdogan was re-elected as the country’s president last month after a second run against CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan’s rival now faces mounting pressure to step down as party chairman following his defeat.
