Turkey Opposition to Fight Erdogan ’Until the End’

By Staff, Agencies

The Turkish Republican People's Party [CHP] leader Ozgur Ozel demanded snap polls that would show the "biggest no confidence vote in history" against the country’s head Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the arrest last month of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who was seen as the president's chief challenger.

“Erdogan carried out a coup against his own rival. He carried out a coup against the next president of Turkey, our presidential candidate. That is why our resistance and struggle against this will continue until the end,” Ozel confirmed.

Imamoglu's arrest sparked the biggest opposition protests to grip Turkey since 2013 although the rallies have dipped in intensity over the past 10 days amid holidays marking the end of Ramadan, and in order to maintain momentum, the CHP is now calling for rallies in an Istanbul district every Wednesday.

A party petition for the release of Imamoglu has gathered 7.2 million signatures, he said, adding that the aim is to get at least half of Turkey's 61.4 million voters to back the campaign.

"We will give Erdogan the biggest vote of no confidence in history," the party leader said. Some "7.2 million people have signed so far this petition to force him [Erdogan] to hold early elections".

Imamoglu is the CHP candidate for the 2028 presidential election with polls indicating he could end Erdogan's almost quarter century grip on power -- if he was allowed to stand.

Ozel said the party would do everything in its power to secure Imamoglu's candidacy "because the people want him and he is our candidate who is strong enough to defeat Erdogan," adding that if legal battles prevented Imamoglu from running, he would make sure as party leader to nominate the right candidate while ruling out any personal ambition.

The next election will be a vote on "democracy versus autocracy," he went on saying.

“If we win, Turkey will become a democracy where the rule of law, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, separation of powers, and a strong parliament prevail,” he added.

Ozel accused US President Donald Trump of "acting like Erdogan's boss" by turning a blind eye to the behavior of the Turkish leader.

"The European Union is better in this sense, but it is still expected to react much more strongly against such a great injustice," Ozel said.

Ozel commented on the arrest of nearly 2,000 people, including students, in a crackdown on the protests, saying, "This shows that those who cannot organize hope organize fear,” adding, "We are organizing the courage against it".