This file photo shows Marmara Prison, where Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has been imprisoned. (AA Photo)
Opposition leader Özgür Özel visited jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu at Marmara Prison on Oct. 4, nearly three months after their previous meeting.
The visit came shortly after İmamoğlu and his wife, Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, were elected as delegates representing Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district at the main opposition New Party’s first ordinary congress in the town.
İmamoğlu has remained at the center of the opposition’s presidential race despite legal challenges that could affect his eligibility to run. He was detained in March 2025, the same day he was declared the then-main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate.
He later left the CHP and joined Özel’s New Party. İmamoğlu faces several legal proceedings, including a case concerning his university diploma and proceedings that could potentially result in a political ban.
In an interview with news website T24 published Sept. 19, Özel said Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş remained a potential candidate if İmamoğlu were unable to run.
“Ekrem İmamoğlu is the presidential candidate as long as he is technically and legally able to be a candidate,” Özel said.
“We understand that they will do everything to prevent Mayor Ekrem from becoming a candidate. In that case, Mansur Yavaş’s candidacy is a very important option.”
Özel resigned from the CHP on July 24 along with 90 lawmakers to establish the New Party after an Ankara court annulled the CHP’s 2023 leadership election over alleged irregularities.
The breakaway group became the largest opposition group in parliament.
Yavaş also left the CHP on Sept. 23, saying he would continue his political career as an independent politician. His departure followed criticism from CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı over the mayor’s continued relationship with Özel.
