Turkey: Ekrem Imamoglu, the man who has put Erdogan and his Islamist radicalization in check

One particular event has brought Turkey to the world's attention. The protagonist is Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of the country's largest city and one of the most populous in the world, with more than 15 million registered inhabitants. Seen as the next potential Turkish president, the authorities burst into his residence a few days ago and arrested him, accusing him of "corruption" and "terrorism," among other charges.

Without evidence that, for the moment, confirms his guilt, what is irrefutable is that he has earned the distinction of being considered as the greatest political rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been president of Turkey for almost 11 years and who, previously, held the position of prime minister for another 11 years. That is to say, he has spent more than two decades running the country at will and leading it towards an Islamist radicalization.

From Istanbul, Imamoglu - mayor of the city since 2019 - has gathered much of his efforts in making a frontal opposition to Erdogan's government, with an open-minded program and decentralizing Islam, something that the Turkish president is absolutely unsettled by.

Curiously, Imamoglu was arrested - along with six of his closest collaborators - a few days before he was nominated as the candidate of his party, the CHP (RPP in English), for the next presidential elections, to be held in 2028.

"Hundreds of policemen arrived at my door. I trust my nation," Imamoglu said in a video posted before his arrest. "I call on the tens of thousands of honorable and moral prosecutors and judges. They must stand up and act against those colleagues who are ruining Justice. They must not and cannot remain silent."

Despite being imprisoned and suspended from his duties, the CHP has taken the decision to officially appoint him - by holding a primary - as a contender to be Turkey's next president.

Being behind bars has not silenced him. What's more, it has succeeded in amplifying his discourse and convincing more Turks that the Erdogan era must end.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters have been taking to the streets of major cities - especially in Istanbul, of course - since his arrest, calling it a "coup d'état against the opposition" and a decision befitting of "a dictatorship."

The Erdogan government's response against Imamoglu's supporters has been tyrannical rather than democratic: the authorities have already arrested more than 1,100 people, including journalists, accused of "illegal activities" for protesting against the decision to imprison and try to silence the person who, as of today, is the president's top rival in the upcoming elections.