CHP leader signals backup candidates if İmamoğlu stays jailed
Jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Main opposition leader Özgür Özel said on May 17 that his Republican People’s Party (CHP) could field alternative presidential candidates if jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu remains behind bars ahead of the next election.
“Ekrem İmamoğlu is in prison; they may not release him. We would have candidates in his place. Of course, our struggle will continue. Any CHP member is a candidate for the CHP,” Özel told supporters during a rally in the northwestern province of Balıkesir.
İmamoğlu was arrested in March last year on corruption charges that he denies on the same day the CHP announced his candidacy.
