Imamoglu from prison: I am Erdogan’s rival, the foundations of the republic are destroyed

This move – four days before my party, the People’s Republican, to hold the primary elections for the next presidential race – was dramatic, but hardly unexpected. He came after months of escalating legal harassment against me, which reached a high point with the sudden cancellation of my university diploma 31 years after I completed my education. Authorities seem to believe that this will disqualum me from the race because the Constitution requires the president to have higher education.

Realizing that he cannot defeat me in front of the urns, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan resorted to other means: the arrest of his main political opponent on accusations of corruption, bribery, a criminal network leadership and aiding and aiding in the illegal Kurd worker (PKK), although the charges are not supported. I was removed from the post I was selected at, on financial accusations.

For years, Mr. Erdogan undermined democratic control and balance – he was silencing the media, replacing elected mayors with bureaucrats, marginalizing parliament, controlling justice and manipulating the elections. The mass arrests of protesters and journalists have sent a freezing message in recent months: no one is safe. Voices can be canceled and freedoms are taken away at any time. With Mr. Erdogan, the Republic has become a republic of fear.

The repression did not limit myself to me. In a large -scale operation based on accusations that are nothing more than a collection of allegations by anonymous witnesses, police arrest almost 100 people, including senior municipal officials and businessmen. The arrests were preceded by campaigns for misinformation and slander in pro -government media.

Yet the people of Turkey responded with resistance. Despite the prohibition of protests and blockades of key entrance arteries in the cities, hundreds of thousands of citizens from Istanbul to the northeastern town of Rise, a traditional Erdogan fortress, took to the streets. Within hours and in the days after my arrest, people of all ages and origin joined my party. People in front of the municipal administration of Istanbul held vigils despite the increasingly harsh measures and arrests.

Regardless of the repression, the People’s Republican Party successfully held its primary presidential election on Sunday. The party’s election lists showed that 15 million people, including 1.7 million registered party members, voted for me as presidential candidate.

Since my election for mayor in 2019, I was faced with almost 100 investigations and dozens of lawsuits. From unconvincing to absurd, each of the accusations was part of a broader effort to be exhausted, to be stopped to serve the people who chose me, to be removed from office and eliminated as Mr. Erdogan’s rival.

I have already applied against candidates supported by Mr. Erdogan, three times – twice in local elections in Istanbul and once last year – when he personally agitated against me. And I won every time. Now, unable to beat me in elections, he uses his control over the justice system to remove a rival from his way, who – according to recent studies – can win if the election was conducted today.

Why do so many people take the streets in the biggest demonstrations after protests for the Gesi Park in 2013?

In the face of increasing injustice and difficult economy, public discontent in Turkey has reached the point of boiling. People talk openly and unite around me – a candidate who promises involvement, justice and hope for a better future. They will not be driven for silent. But society also sees my arrest as an attempt to push Turkey even further on the path of authoritarianism.

Even in the context of repression, the signs of solidarity are resisting. Social Democratic leaders and mayors across Turkey and beyond, from Amsterdam to Zagreb, expressed their support with courage and principle after my arrest. Civil society also did not hesitate. But (what can we say about) central governments around the world? Their silence is deafening. Washington only expressed « anxiety from recent arrests and protests » in Turkey. With a few exceptions, European leaders did not come up with a strong answer.

What is happening in Turkey and many other parts of the world shows that democracy, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms cannot survive in silence, nor sacrifice for diplomatic convenience, masked as a « real -politician ».

It cannot be denied that recent events – the war of Russia in Ukraine, the overthrow of the Assad regime in our neighbor Syria and the devastation in Gaza – have intensified Turkey’s strategic importance, not least in view of its decisive capacity to help European security. However, geopolitics should not blind us about the erosion of values, especially for human rights violations. Otherwise, we legitimize those who destroy stone by stone the global order based on rules.

The survival of democracy in Turkey is crucial not only to its people but also to the future of democracy around the world. The era of uncontrolled strong figures requires those who believe in democracy to be as vocal, persistent and unwavering as their opponents. The fate of democracy depends on the courage of students, workers, other citizens, trade unions and selected employees – those who refuse to remain silent when the institutions disintegrate. I believe in people in Turkey and beyond it, who are fighting for justice and democracy.