Cases against opposition politicians mount ahead of Turkish elections
Critics claim the government has weaponized the judiciary to neutralize leading figures in the Republican People’s Party.
ISTANBUL — It’s been a busy week for lawyers representing Turkish opposition politicians.
Two prominent figures in the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the head of the party’s Istanbul branch, Canan Kaftancioglu — have both been involved in cases that many see as attempts to sideline them ahead of elections due in the next 12 months.
The pair are responsible for the CHP’s victory in Istanbul three years ago, arguably the greatest setback for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) since it came to power in 2002.
Prior to the CHP’s local election triumph, which was mirrored in other major cities such as Ankara and Antalya, Istanbul had been governed for 25 years by the AKP or its Islamist predecessor, the Refah Party.
