Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Istanbul mayor facing down Erdoğan

Source:Financial Times Date:06Apr2024

Who is the man profiled as most likely to beat  Erdogan in the next presidential race?  This is the bio of Istanbul CHPmayor Ekrem  Imamoglu

 
Sitting beneath a painting of Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Ekrem İmamoğlu prayed quietly this week as he listened to a blessing wishing him success following his re-election as Istanbul mayor. Just days earlier, İmamoğlu had sent a huge crowd into rapturous celebration as he declared victory against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s candidate in local elections billed as vital for the future of the country’s opposition.

The contrasting scenes underscore İmamoğlu’s ability to morph between charismatic campaigner and softer, more pious man. This has won him support from beyond his Republican People’s party (CHP), which was founded on Atatürk’s staunchly secular ideology. “I really want the Republic of Turkey to exist for centuries in the secular order, in the democratic order, and with this diversity,” İmamoğlu told the FT. His desk displays both the Nutuk, a key Atatürk speech, and the Koran. “I prayed here with my family . . . I prayed for my own success,” he says.